Govt. confirms evacuation of Indian nationals from southern Kyrgyzstan

New Delhi, June 15 (ANI): The Government of India has confirmed the airlifting of all Indian nationals from riot hit southern Kyrgyzstan.

The Embassy of India in Bishkek arranged the airlift of Indian citizens with the support of the Kyrgyz authorities.

"All the Indian nationals stranded in the southern Kyrgyz towns of Osh and Jalal-Abad were safely evacuated last night by air to Bishkek. They are expected to return to India over the next few days. Flights out of Bishkek are operating normally," a Ministry of External Affairs release said.

Fierce clashes between the Kyrgyz majority and the Uzbek minority erupted on Thursday night, turning much of the Central Asian nation into a warzone.

Over hundred people have been killed over the past four days in what is being described as the worst ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan in the last two decades.

The interim government in Kyrgyzstan, which took power in April after a popular revolt toppled President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, had appealed for Russian help to quell the riots.

Bakiyev, who currently exiled in Belarus, said Kyrgyzstan was on the verge of collapse.

Media reports added that violence continued unabated with Kyrgyzs rioters torching Uzbek villages and slaughtering residents. More than 75,000 Uzbeks are said to have crossed over to Uzbekistan. (ANI)