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17 Killed, 200 Wounded in Kyrgyz Riots

   VOA News 11 June 2010
   A  man looks at a vandalized Kyrgyz building in the streets of Osh, 11
   Jun 2010

Photo: AFP

   A  man looks at a vandalized Kyrgyz building in the streets of Osh, 11
   Jun 2010

   Officials in Kyrgyzstan say at least 17 people have been killed and at
   least 200 others wounded in riots in the southern city of Osh.
   Fighting  erupted  between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek groups early Friday
   and grew larger during the day.
   Rioters  smashed windows, looted businesses and burned cars, prompting
   the Kyrgyz government to declare a state of emergency in Osh and three
   neighboring districts.  A Kyrgyz government spokesman, Farid Niyazov,
   says  authorities  sent  armored vehicles to the site of the riots and
   imposed a nighttime curfew.
   Southern  Kyrgyzstan  was the power base of former president Kurmanbek
   Bakiyev,  who  was  overthrown in an April uprising in which 85 people
   were killed.
   Russian  President  Dmitri  Medvedev  and  Chinese President Hu Jintao
   called  for  a  quick resolution to the situation in Kyrgyzstan.  The
   leaders  spoke  at  a  summit of regional leaders in the Uzbek capital
   Tashkent Saturday.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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