Brutal killings in Kyrgyzstan causes mass exodus

Over the past four days, tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have fled their homes after brutal ethnic violence erupted across Southern Kyrgyzstan.

Those lucky enough to have escaped made their way across the border to neighbouring Uzbekistan after Kyrgyz men began killing them at random in a scary resemblance to the ethnic Rwandan war of 1994.

Meanwhile, those left behind are too frightened to go outside as the rampage continues in the country’s second largest city.

The current situation

So far about 75,000 people have fled across the border to Uzbekistan, leaving their homes and property at the mercy of the mob.

Others are in hiding, often with the support of their sympathetic Kyrgyz neighbours. Many Uzbek families have been separated.

Smoke can be seen across the skyline of Osh city, where Kyrgyz gunmen have set fire to Uzbek homes and killed residents.

Locals report of women and children being dragged from their homes and hacked to death.

The death toll is now up to 200 and rising. More than 1,000 people have been wounded and some have been taken hostage.

There are reports of mobs of armed men roaming the streets, some of whom haven’t slept for days after fighting broke out on Thursday.

Kyrgyz people have been among the victims as well with Uzbeks retaliating mainly with sticks and knives.

One Uzbek boy shot dead three Kyrgyz men who were approaching a group of women in the street.

The fighting has also spread to the neighbouring province of Jalalabad where a similar chaotic scene of street shooting and building burning is taking place.

It’s the worst ethnic violence to hit the country since 1990 when several hundred people were killed. At the time Kyrgyzstan was still part of the Soviet Union and Soviet troops were sent in to quell the unrest.

This time, however, Russia has said it won’t be intervening, but instead will send troops to protect Russian facilities.

The Kyrgyzstan government has given their security forces shoot-to-kill powers but are unlikely to be able to stop the violence themselves (some even suspect they have sided with the Kyrgyz majority).

People are feeling desperate and have asked the United Nations for help, but only a representative has been sent thus far. A state of emergency has been called across the region.

The government is still rebuilding after the old one was kicked out during deadly clashes in April, and many believe this may be a factor in the current crisis.

The root cause

It’s not entirely clear what sparked these ferocious attacks but local reports suggest it started as a fight between rival gangs and escalated into gun battles from there.

The two ethnic groups have lived peacefully in the region for almost 20 years. However, recent tension over land, water and housing, as well as several incidents of violence has reignited some bitterness.

The Central Asian country of 5.5 million people (1 million of which are Uzbeks) has been simmering with unrest since Kyrgyzstan’s forceful change of government in April.

Most people are happy with the new government – after all it was a popular uprising led by the people that removed the corrupt and incompetent former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

But Bakiyev, who fled to Jalalabad in April and now lives in Belarus, has strong support in the south, and some believe he may be behind the current violence in an attempt to disrupt a referendum on the constitution in late June and an election in October.

A conversation was recorded and broadcast on national TV between his son and his brother about stirring unrest before the referendum. Bakiyev though has denied any involvement.

In any case, the immediate situation in the region calls for action rather than blame calling. People remain trapped in basements with dwindling food supplies while angry young men roam the streets demanding blood.

In scale it’s still a far cry from the genocidal horrors of Rwanda, but the hysteria and motives are very similar.

Here’s hoping the Kyrgyzstan government or United Nations can calm the situation down before yet another investigation is launched into what went so horribly wrong.

By The Casual Truth