Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Kyrgyzstan Begins 3 Days of Mourning

   VOA News 16 June 2010
   Uzbek  men  bury  a  body  of  a victim who died during ethnic rioting
   between Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks in the southern Kyrgyzstan

Photo: AP

   Uzbek  men  bury  a  body  of  a victim who died during ethnic rioting
   between  Kyrgyz  and ethnic Uzbeks in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh,
   15 June 2010

   Kyrgyzstan  has begun three days of mourning for the nearly 180 people
   killed in ethnic violence in the country's south. Government officials
   say   flags  will  fly  at  half-staff  starting  Wednesday  and  that
   entertainment events would be canceled.
   News  agencies  reported  that violence has subsided over the past two
   days.   They  said armed Kyrgyz troops were patrolling the streets in
   the  city  of  Osh  and  that  military checkpoints had been set up on
   several  roads.   The  south  is  a  power  base for former President
   Kurmanbek  Bakiyev,  who was ousted in an April 7 uprising that killed
   85  people.  The deposed leader, who has taken refuge in Belarus, has
   denied allegations that his supporters instigated the ethnic violence.
   Also  Wednesday, Kyrgyzstan sent the secretary of its security council
   to  Moscow for meetings with some top officials and to discuss ways to
   speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid.
   Some  humanitarian  aid  has  already  arrived  in  the region. United
   Nations officials said its first plane carrying supplies for thousands
   of  refugees  fleeing  the  violence  landed  Wednesday at the Andijan
   airport in neighboring Uzbekistan.
   U.N.  refugee  agency spokesman Andrej Mahecic in Geneva has said that
   up  to  200,000  people had been displaced in Kyrgyzstan, with tens of
   thousands  crossing  into  neighboring  Uzbekistan or massing near the
   border.   Refugees have reported incidents of rape and indiscriminate
   killings.
   Kyrgyzstan's health ministry updated the official death toll Wednesday
   from  the violence to 179 in the Osh and Jalalabad regions, lower than
   Tuesday's estimate from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
   The  ICRC said several hundred people had been killed and Kyrgyzstan's
   interim  leader Roza Otunbayeva said Tuesday that the death toll could
   be several times higher than the official count.  Nearly 1,900 people
   have required medical attention, according to Kyrgyz health officials.

   U.S.  Secretary  of State Hillary Clinton is sending a senior diplomat
   to  Kyrgyzstan  to  discuss  the crisis and humanitarian aid.  Robert
   Blake, the top U.S. diplomat for South and Central Asian affairs, will
   travel to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan Friday and Saturday.
   Several  Asian  governments  have been evacuating their nationals from
   southern  Kyrgyzstan.   China,  India,  Pakistan  and South Korea all
   organized flights to rescue citizens working or studying in Kyrgyzstan
   Tuesday.

   Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.

.