Updated April 07, 2010
Anti-govt protests sweep Kyrgyzstan, 17 said dead

AP
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan

Anti-government protests swept across the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday as thousands of protesters stormed the main government building, set fire to the prosecutor's office and...

AP

April 7: Angry protesters try to seize Central Asian nation's main government building, after beating up dozens of police officers.
Anti-government protests swept across the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday as thousands of protesters stormed the main government building, set fire to the prosecutor's office and looted state TV headquarters. At least 17 people were killed and least 180 wounded in clashes, the government said.

The unrest has threatened the relative stability of this mountainous former Soviet nation, which houses a U.S. military base that is a key supply center in the fight against the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.

Demonstrators furious over government corruption and a recent hike in power prices looted the state television and radio building and were marching toward the Interior Ministry in the capital, Bishkek, according to Associated Press reporters on the scene. Elite police opened fire to drive crowds back from government headquarters.

Opposition activist Shamil Murat told the AP that Interior Minister Moldomusa Kongatiyev was beaten to death by a mob in the western town of Talas where the unrest erupted a day ago.

Health Ministry spokeswoman Yelena Bayalinova said 180 people were hurt in the clashes Wednesday, without elaborating. Opposition activist Toktoim Umetalieva said 17 people died after police opened fire with live ammunition. That figure of 17 dead was confirmed by another government health official speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

The opposition began the day vowing to defy the crackdown launched by increasingly authoritarian President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The president was not seen in public Wednesday and his whereabouts were unclear.

Police in Bishkek at first used rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons and concussion grenades Wednesday to try to control crowds of young men clad in black who were chasing police officers, beating them up and seizing their arms, trucks and armored personnel carriers.

Some protesters then tried to use a personnel carrier to ram the gates of the government headquarters, known as the White House. Many of the protesters threw rocks, but about a half dozen young protesters shot Kalashnikovs into the air from the square in front of the building.

"We don't want this rotten power!" protester Makhsat Talbadyev said, as he and others in Bishkek waved opposition party flags and chanted: "Bakiyev out!"

Some 200 elite police began firing, pushing the crowd back from the government headquarters.

Protesters set fire to the prosecutor general's office in the city center, and a giant plume of black smoke billowed into the sky.

Groups of protesters then set out across Bishkek. Some seized the state television and radio building, and were looting; others marched toward the Interior Ministry, which oversees the former Soviet republic's police force.

At least 10 opposition leaders were arrested overnight and were being held at the security headquarters in Bishkek, opposition lawmaker Irina Karamushkina said.

One of them, Temir Sariyev, was freed Wednesday by protesters.

The prime minister, meanwhile, accused the opposition of provoking the violence in the country of 5 million people.

"What kind of opposition is this? They are just bandits," Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov said.

Many of the opposition leaders were erstwhile allies of Bakiyev, who had helped bring him to power in the street protests of March 2005 known as the Tulip Revolution. They ousted his predecessor, accusing him of corruption, cronyism and cracking down on the opposition.

Five years later, Bakiyev is facing similar accusations from an opposition that says he has sacrificed democratic standards to maintain peace, while enriching himself and his family.

Unrest also broke out for a second day in the western town of Talas and spread to the southern city of Naryn.

Some 5,000 protesters seized Naryn's regional administration building and installed a new governor, opposition activist Adilet Eshenov said. At least four people were wounded in clashes, including the regional police chief, he said.

Another 10,000 protesters stormed police headquarters Wednesday in Talas, where on Tuesday protesters had held the regional governor hostage in his office.

The protesters beat up the interior minister, Kongatiyev, and forced him to call his subordinates in Bishkek and call off the crackdown on protesters, a correspondent for the local affiliate of U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said.

Witnesses said the crowd in Talas looted police headquarters Wednesday, removing computers and furniture. Dozens of police officers left the building and mingled with protesters.

In the eastern region of Issyk-Kul, protesters seized the regional administration building and declared they installed their governor, the Ata-Meken opposition party said on its Web site.

Hundreds of protesters overran the government building Tuesday on Talas' main square. They were initially dispersed by baton-wielding police, but then fought through tear gas and flash grenades to regroup, burning police cars and hurling stones and Molotov cocktails.

Usenov said Tuesday's violence in Talas had left 85 officers injured and 15 unaccounted for.

Damn..

I do hope this resolves itself before I make it over there next Oct. Not something I would really care to be caught up in.
Thanks for the update, Blue.. Kyrg is somewhere that you usually don't see the neg. news reports coming out of.

Kyrgyzstan government ousted
2010-04-07 23:46


Bishkek - Opponents of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev took control on Wednesday of Kyrgyzstan after a day of spectacular violence that ended with Bakiyev fleeing the capital of the strategic Central Asian state.

Opposition protesters seized the presidential administration on Wednesday night and announced on state radio that they had formed a provisional government with former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva at its head.

A worker at Bishkek's international airport told AFP that the 60-year-old Bakiyev had fled the capital aboard a small plane as his opponents consolidated their grip on key national institutions.

Opposition leader Temir Sariyev said on Kyrgyz radio that Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov had signed a letter of resignation and Otunbayeva vowed that the new leadership in the country would move quickly to normalise the situation.

"Power is now in the hands of the people's government," Otunbayeva said in an address on state radio.

"Responsible people have been appointed and are already working to normalise the situation."

The fast-moving events in Kyrgyzstan capped a day of ferocious clashes in Bishkek and other cities that quickly turned into a nationwide revolt against Bakiyev that was believed to have left scores dead.

Spiralling protests


As unrest swept the Central Asian republic, the opposition took control of national television, the prosecutors' office was set alight and state media reported that a deputy prime minister was held hostage in the remote north west.

The riots were the culmination of spiralling protests in the Central Asian nation with the opposition demanding Bakiyev's resignation and accusing his government of rights violations, authoritarianism and economic mismanagement.

Despite briefly arresting three leading opposition figures and declaring a state of emergency, the authorities failed to prevent the rebels from rapidly taking control of some of the main levers of power.

A health ministry official said 47 people had died, many from gunshot wounds, and more than 400 were injured. Officials said that the toll could be expected to rise.

Opposition leader Omurbek Tekebayev said separately that more than 100 people had been killed in the violence.

The United States, which maintains an air base in Kyrgyzstan used in the Nato campaign in nearby Afghanistan, voiced "deep concern", while Russia also appealed for calm in the former Soviet republic.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Moscow had no involvement in unrest in ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan.

"Neither Russia nor your humble servant (Putin) have any links" to the events in Kyrgyzstan, Putin told reporters during a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk in Smolensk, western Russia.

State of emergency


"At the same time, when (Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek) Bakiyev came to power a few years ago, he severely criticised (former president Askar) Akayev for nepotism, that only his family held power. I have the impression that Mr Bakiyev is now stepping on the same rake," Putin said.

Prior to seizing the presidential offices, opposition protesters laid siege to both the national parliament and the offices of the government, demanding that Bakiyev quit.

An AFP journalist meanwhile saw flames coming from the ground floor of the four-storey prosecutors' office.

Riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades in repeated bids to disperse the demonstrators and Usenov declared a state of emergency, but all to little effect.

A police source and a witness said Interior Minister Moldomus Kongantiyev had been killed in the north west hub of Talas where the first protests erupted.

Kongantiyev was attacked by protestors who had also taken deputy prime minister Akylbek Zhaparov captive, the Kabar Kyrgyz state news agency reported.

An interior ministry spokesperson, Rakhmatullo Akhmedov, later said Kongantiyev was alive but admitted the government had little information on the situation in Talas, saying it was "checking" reports the minister was taken hostage.

In Bishkek, explosions from stun grenades reverberated across the city and the crackle of automatic weapons fire filled the air as protesters in the main square gasped for breath in a fog of tear gas.

Blue flag


Witnesses said security forces had fired live bullets into the air as between 3 000 and 5 000 protestors overturned cars and set them on fire in Bishkek.

Protestors appeared to have seized several heavily armoured police vehicles and were standing on them waving red Kyrgyz flags and the blue flag of the opposition movement.

Looters also ransacked the home of Bakiyev's family, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

The violence came a day after more than 1 000 opposition protesters burst through police lines and took control of government offices in Talas.

And in the central city of Naryn, hundreds of opposition protesters on Wednesday stormed the regional government headquarters after the local governor refused to negotiate.

Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous country perched at the strategic junction between China, Russia and south west Asia, is among the poorest countries to have emerged from the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union.

It has been plagued by corruption and chronic instability and the troubles resemble widespread unrest that washed over the country in March 2005 and resulted in the ouster of president Askar Akayev.


- AFP

Sad situation.. There were some rough scenes on the news yesterday. Hope the situation gets better for the people of Kyrgyzstan soon!

To my knowledge the cause of this is increased prices on government services and electricity. And of course corrupsion.. The president has put several of his own children in leading positions!

Anders,
You are very understated.
Government raised electricity and water prices astronomically, and then forcibly privatized 3 electricity generation and transmission companies for something like $1-1.5mm each, selling them to the president's son.

The opposition consolidated its hold on the North yesterday, with parts of the South joining in later. The president went into hiding in his hometown in the South after having his brother (head of presidential security) give orders to fire on people from the government house. They later added snipers.

If things go well, they will oust the President. If he succeeds in building some sort of powerbase in the South, we could have another situation like the Tajik civil war.

Ironically, one of the main events contributing to the revolution 5 years ago was the shooting of protesters at a rally in the South. Command to fire was given by Kurmanbek Bakiev, who later resigned although he never officially was charged with it. Then he takes over the revolution, becomes president, and turns the country into a medieval kingdom, run by his family. So not surprising that he went out in a flurry of bullets.

quote:

Government raised electricity and water prices astronomically, and then forcibly privatized 3 electricity generation and transmission companies for something like $1-1.5mm each, selling them to the president's son.

The opposition consolidated its hold on the North yesterday, with parts of the South joining in later. The president went into hiding in his hometown in the South after having his brother (head of presidential security) give orders to fire on people from the government house. They later added snipers.

If things go well, they will oust the President. If he succeeds in building some sort of powerbase in the South, we could have another situation like the Tajik civil war.

Ironically, one of the main events contributing to the revolution 5 years ago was the shooting of protesters at a rally in the South. Command to fire was given by Kurmanbek Bakiev, who later resigned although he never officially was charged with it. Then he takes over the revolution, becomes president, and turns the country into a medieval kingdom, run by his family. So not surprising that he went out in a flurry of bullets.

Proof that you need to do a lot of research before you travel to any of these places. I would be interested to hear if this is interfering with any of the outfitters or hunters that post on here. Are there any hunters caught up in this mess?

Youtube has posted numerous news videos of the situation.

This has the potential to totally unravel our hunt plans next year... I hope the country can pull through and get back together. If not, then going over there just to hunt a goat won't be worth it IMO. I'm not going to risk my neck for a goat hunt.
We (guys who are going on the trip) are putting a tentative plan B together just in case it gets worse.. We'll now be looking into an Altai ibex hunt in Mongolia or if the right deal comes about, a Gredos or Becite ibex hunt in Spain..
I'm hoping for a complete recovery of Kyrg, though.. I REALLY want to make it over there nex year.

In Kirgyzstan all is already quiet.
There much more easy situation than for example in Pakistan.
Any foreign hunters or citizen from the USA or Europe there has not suffered during disorders.
In the summer and autumn of this year there will be a remarkable hunting!!!

However Kazakhstan would be very quite good alternative to Kyrgyzstan on trophy size in
Dgungarian Alatay, Ile-Alatau, Kolsay Lake....

I have to agree with Profyhunter. Things are starting to calm down.
The only problem I could foresee is if anyone has booked with an operator connected to the old president. If anyone has booked with the State Hunting Agency for this year, they may have problems.
However, the areas generally used for foreign hunting are all in the North and the vast majority of operators are also from the North and are most likely to be better off than under the old regime.

Of course, if Bakiev is dumb enough to make an armed stand things could change--but even in that scenario I don't see it lasting more than a few months.

Even people transiting Kyrgyzstan for Tajikistan should be OK.

Good to hear things are calming down. I've been following Scottyboy's thread and wondered if this would affect him.

Scottyboy, my hope is that you're unaffected and will still have a great hunt.

Personally, I had a marco polo hunt in Taji planned last year that got wiped out b/c of various bs. Still have plans to go back...

quote:

If anyone has booked with the State Hunting Agency for this year, they may have problems.

I dont think that is possible so quickly to change all people in ministerium and the organisations...I know Almaz from State Hunting Agency.
All will be good!
Certainly,the shifts are possible, but not such radical...

Thank God!
Thank God!
Our friends from Kyrgyzstan has occurred nothing. This is most important...

quote:

Originally posted by bluefin:
Personally, I had a marco polo hunt in Taji planned last year that got wiped out b/c of various bs. Still have plans to go back...

Bluefin!
Where you wanted hunts in Tadj?
Khorog or Murghab?

Profyhunter, do you sell hunts for the SHA?

I'm trying to give people real advice and caution, not protect any interests.

Of course, most of the people inside ministries, etc., will not change or at least not so quickly. However, it doesn't take much, especially when argali permits are involved, for the status quo to change, even without a revolution.

Silki and I have been exchanging PMs for awhile now and I must say that he not only knows the in's and out's of Kyrgystan better than he leads on, he is very generous about trying to see fit that you get on with a reputable outfit and are sent into a good area within the country. He's been a wealth of info and knowledge and has been sharing it with me. Thanks for all the help, bud!!

Bluefin
if you care to share, what happened to your Tajik hunt? I remember you were getting close to going.. You did make your bongo hunt though, didn't you?

quote:

Originally posted by silkibex:
Profyhunter, do you sell hunts for the SHA?

No, yet I did not book the hunt by Almaz this year.
But I will repeat my opinion, there is no necessity to be afraid , who has reserved hunting.
This year ,at home, I had visitors from Kirghizia - relatives of Cholponbeka. Do you know him? He was lost by the helicopter crash with hunters from the USA.
He had the best hunting area for marco polo hunting.
Now his sister is owner of this hunting area from Cholponbek.

quote:

Originally posted by silkibex:
However, it doesn't take much, especially when argali permits are involved, for the status quo to change, even without a revolution.

All people wish to eat. What the difference who will to grant the licences. The main thing, that they have paid dollars.
The state earns on this hunting too.
The problem is a political prosecution of objectionable people. But those who is engaged in hunting - do not politicise.

quote:

Originally posted by Scottyboy:

Bluefin
if you care to share, what happened to your Tajik hunt? I remember you were getting close to going.. You did make your bongo hunt though, didn't you?

I had booked a hunt thru Bob Kern of The Hunting Consortium. What happened was no CITIES for Marco Polo were issued by our wonderful federal agency. So Bob had to cancel all of his hunts.
Bob was always upfront about everything and when it was finalized that no hunts were to take place he immediately sent the refunds.

I did do the bongo hunt. My second time to CAR and it was a blast. The first time I took a Lord Derby Eland and this time I took the bongo. The outfitter, Central African Wildlife Adventures, was great. One of the things I really enjoy about going there are the Africans. Got to know several and they were all just a lot of fun, quick to laugh but always busting their tail trying to get me my game.

I am not sure the trouble is over yet.

I have a good friend, who is Kazakh, and has returned on leave to their home town of Taraz. This is on the border with Kyrgyzstan.

The nearest 'big' place across the border is Talas. Taraz has been receiving refugees from Talas.

The situation is quite tense in Taraz as rebels have taken control of a very big reservoir along the common border and are threatening to 'blow it'.

If this were to happen, Taraz would be seriously flooded. Then there is the structural damage to consider - think Dam Busters and the Mohne, Eder and Saupe (?spelling) Rhur Dams.

Profyhunter,
Yes, I knew Cholponbek and am very familiar with the details of the crash.
I can think of several scenarios where there could be problems--even if the country is completely stable.
Hunting, especially for argalis, brings a lot of cash and brings all sorts of people to the table.
Anyone from the south running hunts in Issyk Kul or Naryn didn't have those concessions 5 years ago and chances are, acquired them under dubious circumstances. Given the change in power, I don't think it would be out of the question for any existing permits to be rescinded or, if not, for camps to be ransacked or hunts forcibly interrupted--if not by officials then by locals. To be clear, I only think this could happen if the operator was from the South and hunting in Issyk Kul or Naryn (and much lesser extent Chui). It is also possible that the new government cannot get its act together in time to issue permits.

Considering the number of unregistered (albeit not hunting) firearms that seem to be around these days, including ones looted during the revolution and those clandestinely imported by Bakiev's presidential guard, it would also not be out of the question to see a change in firearms policy, which was already tightened back in 2000 or so.

I do not agree with your statement that operators are not political. You must know that it is relatively difficult to get permits and operate hunts (especially in the border zone) without political support.

I am relatively sure that the country will be safe enough to hunt this season. I am less certain that all operators will be able to offer their hunts this year. I believe a little caution in this regard is warranted.

I do not represent any outfitters or agents, I am just trying to help out fellow hunters that are looking at Kyrgyzstan.

Robthom,
I have not heard of this. If it is indeed true, then I would speculate that these "rebels" are people acting on behalf of the former president, Bakiev. There would be no reason for members and supporters of the new government to threaten such acts.
In his address 2 days ago, Bakiev cryptically told people to "wait and see".

quote:

Originally posted by silkibex:

I am relatively sure that the country will be safe enough to hunt this season. I am less certain that all operators will be able to offer their hunts this year.

I completely support this point of view.

The only thing, what I don't agree - it is necessary openly to speak who from operators is unable to organise the declared hunts.
Otherwise your cautions aren't clear.
Whether can the hunter from the USA define, will be the hunting organised or not? Who is tell him?
You can already inform in this thread some doubts and name that outfitters, who in your opinion will have complexities.I think, what is it was fair to tell about it now.As you just trying to help out fellow hunters that are looking at Kyrgyzstan.

quote:

Originally posted by silkibex:
Profyhunter,
Yes, I knew Cholponbek

His sister was at my home this year on a visit.
She is a friend of my wife.

I believe my caution is quite clear to those who don't want to play silly games with semantics.

And for those with an interest in semantics, consider the meaning of caution.

If I knew of any operators already banned from conducting hunts and still soliciting clients, I would probably be inclined to name names. At this point, it is all speculation and passing judgment would be grossly unfair.

quote:

If I knew of any operators already banned from conducting hunts and still soliciting clients, I would probably be inclined to name names. At this point, it is all speculation and passing judgment would be grossly unfair.

You are probably right, but it won't give to foreign hunters the advantages.
It is only my opinion.

Kathi (or anyone else, for that matter)

any new updates or new news that you've heard of?

Edil Baisalov, the chief of staff of the self-proclaimed interim government, confirmed to RFE/RL that Bakiev has stepped down.

Bakiev has also left Kyrgyzstan. Kazakh Foreign Ministry official, Roman Vassilenko, has confirmed to RFE/RL that Bakiev arrived in Taraz, in south Kazakhstan.

The OSCE chairperson-in-office, Kazakhstan's secretary of state, and Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabaev, said in a statement that the agreement on Bakiev's departure had been reached in talks with Kyrgyzstan's interim officials along with international mediators.

A spokeswoman for the OSCE, Virginie Coulloudon, told RFE/RL that Bakiev was safe.

Saudabaev's statement said Bakiev's departure was the result of "joint efforts" involving Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, U.S. President Barack Obama, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

It said the "development is an important step towards the stabilization of the situation, a return to a framework providing for the rule of law, and the prevention of a civil war in Kyrgyzstan."

The development came shortly after Bakiev told reporters in his native village of Teyit in southern Jalal-Abad province that Nazarbaev had called him and invited him to Kazakhstan. The former president has been based in Teyit since he left the capital following last week's political upheaval in Bishkek.

Bakiev said he has been offered political asylum by Belarus but that he had turned it down. He also had said he was willing to resign if the interim government gave safety guarantees for himself and his family.

Copies of Bakiev's resignation letter have been publicized. He left Kyrgyzstan on a Russian military plane bound for Kazakhstan, as Profyhunter has posted.

Now it's just a matter of whether or not the new government can get its act together and if Bakiev does not try to undermine the new government.

Thanks guys..

Silki, email me when you hear back from your guys. Talk with ya soon.

It's not looking good from here.

What I read in our paper today is the 'new' gov. is making waves and wants to assert it's new authority.

They were questioning the US military being there.

That's its number one source of income! Hunting has to be up near the top ten.

Thanks Blue..

As of now, I am exploring my options with a hunt very near the Kyrgyz border, but in Tajikistan..

We are also looking very hard at doing a combo hunt for both Altai and Gobi in Mongolia.. We were offered a great rate for this hunt.

I am not giving up on Kyrgyzstan completely, but I am most def. making a Plan B, just in case.

Thanks for all the up to dates on the happenings in Kyrgyzstan.

Bluefin,
Ever since the base was opened the Kyrgyz have been trying to milk it. Procurement contracts, landing fees, rent. Every time something big happens it is seen as an opportunity to increase income from the base. Last year the Russians offered the Kyrgyz $150mm in grants and something like $2bn in preferential credit. Two days later Bakiev announced he was closing the base. Rent was tripled to $60mm/year and the base stayed. Then the Russians backed out of the credit deal, claiming the economic downturn made it impossible. I seriously doubt the base will go.

In the past, the Canadian run Kumtor gold mine has been up to 50% of GDP.
Income from hunting has decreased dramatically as most notably argali but also ibex trophy quality has declined. The stable situation in Tajikistan for the past 10 years, where the largest Marco Polo rams are, has also reduced hunting income.

If you remember in the early 90's a Marco Polo cost about $40K. One of the major US agents brought the cost down to $20K with a gift of 2 camcorders to (at the time) the major operator in Kyrgyzstan.

Hi Jason!

The new articl in WP:

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 23, 2010

A panel of experts told Congress on Thursday that the United States tolerated a corrupt government in Kyrgyzstan to maintain access to a base that is key to the fighting in Afghanistan.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/...AR2010042205880.html

Thanks Profyhunter, but no real news there. 2 things are pretty much sure--the base will not leave until the US wants it to and any Kyrgyz govt. will be willing to bargain over it. Kyrgyzstan cannot afford to kick either the US or Russia out--and neither wants to spend what it would take to remove the other one.

The question is not so much about the base but about how and to whom payments are made.

100 000 Uzbeks flee Kyrgyz mobs
2010-06-14 14:20


Osh - Some 100 000 minority Uzbeks fleeing a purge by mobs of Kyrgyz massed at the border on Monday, an Uzbek leader said, as the deadliest ethnic violence to hit this Central Asian nation in decades left entire blocks of a major city burned to the ground.

As the southern city of Osh smouldered for a fourth day on Monday, the official death toll of 117 killed and 1 500 injured from the clashes appeared to be far too low.

An Uzbek community leader claimed at least 200 Uzbeks alone had already been buried, and the International Committee of the Red Cross has said its delegates saw about 100 bodies being buried in just one cemetery.

The United States, Russia and the UN worked on humanitarian aid airlifts while neighbouring Uzbekistan hastily set up refugee camps to handle the flood of hungry, frightened refugees.

Refugees

Most of the refugees were women, children and the elderly, and Uzbekistan said some had gunshot wounds from their harrowing escape.

Jallahitdin Jalilatdinov, who heads the Uzbek National Centre, told The Associated Press on Monday that at least 100 000 Uzbeks had fled for the border and were awaiting entry into Uzbekistan, while 80 000 had already crossed.

Kyrgyzstan's interim government, which took over after former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted by a mass revolt in April, has been unable to stop the violence.

Uzbeks have backed the interim government, while many Kyrgyz in the south have supported the toppled president.

The government said on Monday it had arrested a well-known politician suspected of stoking the violence, but gave no further details.

Interim President Roza Otunbayeva's government had hoped to seal its democratic credentials with a referendum to approve a new constitution on June 27, but the likelihood of that vote taking place now looks slim.

From his self-imposed exile in Belarus, Bakiyev denied any role in the violence.

Looters

New fires raged on Monday across Osh - the country's second-largest city - which is only 5km from the border with Uzbekistan.

Food and water were scarce as armed looters smashed stores, stealing everything from televisions to food. Cars stolen from ethnic Uzbeks raced around the city, most crowded with young Kyrgyz wielding sharpened sticks, axes and metal rods.

No police or troops were seen on the streets, though the interim government said some of the improvised checkpoints dotted around the city of 250 000 were theirs.

Violence spread to villages and towns around Osh, local residents said.

Families can't escape

Mukaddas Jamolova, a 54-year old housewife from Kara-Su, near Osh, said she saw looters burn down many houses of ethnic Uzbeks. She said her house was not burned down, but the family can't flee to Uzbekistan as they fear armed attackers.

"We can't go anywhere, we have a curfew, nobody's letting us out," Jamolova told AP.

In another city beset by violence, Jalal-Abad, about 40km from Osh, armed Kyrgyz amassed at the central square to hunt down an Uzbek community leader in the nearby village of Suzak who they blame for starting the trouble.

As the clashes continued, desperately needed aid began trickling into the south. Several planes arrived at Osh airport with medical supplies from the World Health Organisation.

Trucks carried the supplies into the city centre, protected by a tank and an armoured personnel carrier.

The US had a shipment of tents, cots and medical supplies ready to fly to Osh from its Manas air base in the capital of Bishkek, the US Embassy said.



- AP

well, i guess the ibex hunt i was considering in Oct. probably isn't a good idea.

For the last 7-8 months, I have tried to keep up with anything and everything news realated that comes out of this area.. Seems that none of it has been good. I was to book an ibex hunt for next Oct.. I've now decided to bow out of that hunt until it calms down in that region. Too much going on over there for me to justify going.

With that said, I DID put that money to good use! I booked with Wade Derby (Crosshair Consulting) on a British Columbia Rocky Mtn goat hunt in place of the ibex hunt for next year!!
Not quite as exciting and "exotic" a hunt, but a hunt that was still on my short list, none the less. I can't wait!

The ibex will come in due time. I want to do that hunt too bad not to go. Just not now.

SB:

Try those Spanish ibex if you really want an ibex. It is certainly safe. I have taken all 4 species. Some of the hunts were very difficult and demanding. Others I was simply lucky. All good fair chase hunts. Some had some pretty serious climbs.