Uzbekistan closes border to refugees

UZBEKISTAN yesterday ordered its frontier closed to a mass exodus of refugees fleeing clashes between rival groups in Kyrgyzstan where government forces were accused of helping the slaughter of ethnic Uzbeks.

Gunfire rang out across the southern Kyrgyzstan city of Osh, where bodies littered the streets. More fighting was reported in the nearby city of Jalalabad. Scores are reported killed in three days of clashes.

With estimates of up to 100,000 people already inside Uzbekistan, the Central Asian state’s Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Aripov said the border would be closed.