So, here we go again. The ethnic tensions that happened in 1990 just before the collapse of the Soviet Union has erupted again after just a few months of deadly protests in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, and governmental change. The Kyrgyz interim government blames former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev for current unrests and expressed state of emergency in the country.
According to the eye witnesses, gun fires are heard in the city of Osh. Buildings are burnt and many people have died (45 died and 637 wounded). The city is on the curfew and Kyrgyz law enforcement and military are sent to quell the conflict. However, eyewitnesses say that law enforcement controls only entries and exits to the city and mobs clash inside the city. The clashes also spread to the other close cities such as Jalal-Abad.
The Uzbek President Islam Karimov at the summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states in Tashkent said that SCO forces can help with stabilizing the region.
Nonetheless, videos on youtube.com with eyewitnesses claim that some mobs follow Kyrgyz law enforcement and burn houses and other buildings.
1. Video on Osh clashes (June 11, 2010) ---- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZrWhgcSvpo
2. More videos in Russian ---- http://www.youtube.com/user/FerghanaRu#p/u/14/ojY08DbRu-Y
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