Uzbek officials took foreign diplomats and journalists on a lightning-quick tour of Andijan today, showing them a prison and the local administration building and arranging meetings with local officials, as the top UN human rights official called for an independent investigation.

UZBEKISTAN’S top prosecutor said yesterday that 169 people had been killed in violence in the eastern town of Andijan, including more than 50 foreign fighters.

THE violence that has ripped through Andijan city in Uzbekistan is only the latest chapter in the troubled history of the former Soviet republic.

POLICE broke up a demonstration yesterday against the dismissal of the outspoken British ambassador to Uzbekistan, detaining several civil rights activists demanding his return.

Amnesty International today called for Uzbekistan not to execute two prisoners it says were tortured to confess to murder.

Violent attacks in Uzbekistan were connected to the al-Qaida terror group, a top anti-terror official said today – the first time the Uzbek government has directly linked the attacks to the terror network headed by Osama bin Laden.