Kyrgyzstan clashes: Death toll increases 82

Markhamat, Jun 13: The death toll from the ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan rose 82 according to the Kyrgyz health ministry reports released on Sunday, Jun 13. The spreading unrest also left more than a thousand injured.

The international non-governmental organization, Amnesty International has called on Kyrgyzstan to protect its ethnic Uzbek minority from racial violence and has urged the country's neighbours to keep their borders open to refugees.

The interim government expanded the state of emergency in Osh to Jalalabad, the neighbouring region imposing curfews in a bid to contain the spreading violence. The Interim government gave the military and police shoot-to-kill powers to suppress the ethnic unrest in the south Kyrgyzstan as it partially mobilised the army.

"Lethal force would be authorised to quell the attacks against the authorities and to stop the destruction of government and private property and protect the civilians," informed the government's decree on Saturday, Jun 12.

"The violence, the number of pillages and massacres are growing... If we do not take opportune and effective measures the unrest could become much more serious and descend into a regional conflict," the government report informed.

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