ACT Alliance

Men walk past a burning building in the city of Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan June 11, 2010.

Photo: Reuters/Alexei Osokin, courtesy www.alertnet.org

Urgent international intervention is needed in Kyrgyzstan to quell ethnic violence which has officially killed 118 but which ACT Alliance says could be nearly 10 times higher.

Tatiana Kotova, of the ACT Alliance Central Asia Forum, said the official figures of the number dead failed to include people dying of injuries in hospitals, and that authorities acknowledged the numbers were inaccurate.

Violence between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz populations has spread to the second major city, Jalalabad, leaving the south of the country “out of control”, Kotova says.

She confirmed that ethnic cleansing was occurring in Osh and Jalalabad and was spreading to areas with ethnic minorities. It was believed the campaign was well prepared, organised and paid for, but this could not be verified, she said.

Food, water and hygiene goods were in huge demand as people fled the cities, where “horrible deaths” of civilians were being reported. ACT members are consulting partners and other humanitarian agencies before deciding what response would be most appropriate.

Residents of southern areas were very disappointed that the interim government were unable to quell the rioting. “People are now hoping the Russians will come and are also meeting in front of the UN office to push for the introduction of UN peacekeepers,” Kotova said.

Misinformation was prevalent, particularly claims by the Uzbek Ministry of Emergency that 75,000 people had taken refuge in neighbouring Uzbekistan.

The need for the international intervention was imperative, Kotova said. “It is absolutely clear that Kyrgyzstan is not able to solve this problem without external help. This is what the international community needs to understand urgently.”

Tomorrow Kotova will attempt to bring together international organizations based in Bishkek to organise a joint needs assessment. Urgency iwould possibly be compounded by the fact that displaced people will tomorrow begin arriving in Bishkek from Osh.  Protection of abandoned children is a key priority, she said.

Reuters reports that Kyrgyzstan's interim government says it has arrested a "well-known person" on on suspicion of inciting the worst ethnic riots in 20 years. The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that authorities and emergency services in the country are overwhelmed by the violence.