Global General

Kyrgyz opposition says it has taken power

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-04-08 02:11

Kyrgyz opposition says it has taken power

Riot police and anti-government protestors clash near the presidential administration in Bishkek April 7, 2010. [Agencies]

SHOOTING

Kyrgyz troops earlier shot at thousands of anti-government protesters who tried to smash two trucks through the perimeter fence of government buildings, a Reuters reporter said.

Around 1,000 people stormed the prosecutor-general's office before setting fire to the building. Opposition activists also took control of state television channel KTR.

"There are dozens of dead bodies, all with gunshot wounds," Akylbek Yeukebayev, a doctor at a Bishkek hospital told Reuters.

Many of the injured had gunshot wounds to their heads. "They are killing us," said one wounded man on the emergency ward.

"About 100 people were killed today, possibly more. What kind of negotiations with the government can we talk about when they are killing our people?", prominent opposition and human rights campaigner Toktoaim Umetaliyeza told Reuters.

The Kyrgyz Health Ministry said the official death toll in Bishkek was 40, with around 400 injured across the country.

Protesters seized government buildings in three other towns. In Talas, Kyrgyz First Deputy Prime Minister Aklybek Japarov and Interior Minister Moldomusa Kongantiyev were beaten. Kongantiyev was forced to shout: "Down with Bakiyev!", two witnesses said.

Kyrgyz Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov earlier told Reuters by phone that he and the president were working in their offices.

"We daren't even look out of the window," Kamil Sydykov, the prime minister's spokesman, said by telephone from inside the presidential building.

European security watchdog, the Organisation for Security Cooperation in Europe, chaired by neighbouring Kazakhstan, called for calm and offered to broker any negotiations.

"The OSCE recognises that there are political, economic and social issues underlying the unrest, which need to be addressed through broad political dialogue. The Organisation stands ready to facilitate such a dialogue," Kazakh Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev told Kyrgyz counterpart Kadyrbek Sarbayev by telephone.

Analysts said the violence was likely to continue.

Smoke from burning buildings and makeshift bonfires billowed around the capital of the ex-Soviet state of 5.3 million people.

Around 5,000 people were in the centre of Bishkek, some carrying rifles and holding red-and-yellow Kyrgyz flags, beyond a curfew which came into effect at 8 pm (1400 GMT). Some shops and restaurants in the main square were looted.

The protests spread to the capital after riots which began in Talas and Naryn the day before and continued into Wednesday.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Bishkek last week and called on the government to do more to protect human rights.

"The secretary-general is shocked by the reported deaths and injuries that have occurred today in Kyrgyzstan. He urgently appeals for dialogue and calm to avoid further bloodshed," Ban's spokesman, Martin Nesirky, said on Wednesday.