Kyrgyz interim leader says restoring stability in south, death toll rises to 12
BISHKEK. June 11. KAZINFORM The Kyrgyz authorities will use all available resources to stabilize the situation in the south of the ex-Soviet Central Asian republic, where the death toll from riots has reached 12, the leader of the country's interim government said on Friday; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
Riots broke out in the city of Osh on Thursday night, reportedly after a fight between locals and members of the city's Uzbek population. Groups of youths rampaged through the city, setting fire to cars and buildings and breaking shop windows. Unrest spread across the city and its surrounding region.
"The interim government will use all available resources and is confident that the security of civilians will be ensured," Roza Otunbayeva said in a statement.
She said security services in the city, its surrounding areas and across the whole of Kyrgyzstan had been ordered to prevent any further destabilization of the situation and various members of the interim government, including the defense minister had already arrived in Osh.
The country's health ministry said the death toll had risen to 12.
"Currently, 126 people have been referred to hospitals in Osh with injuries. 94 people have been hospitalized, 10 are in a serious condition, 12 people have died," spokeswoman Elena Vaylinova said, adding that the largest number of wounded was in the Osh region village of Kizil-Kishlak.
Otunbayeva said tensions between the ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek populations in the south of Kyrgyzstan had been rising for several weeks; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti.
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