It's your problem, Russia tells riot-torn Kyrgyzstan

Russia has refused to send in troops as ethnic riots racked southern Kyrgyzstan, forcing thousands of Uzbeks to flee as their homes were torched by roving mobs of Kyrgyz men.

The interim government begged Russia for troops to stop the violence, but the Kremlin offered only humanitarian assistance.

At least 77 people were reported to have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded yesterday in violence spreading across the impoverished central Asian nation that hosts US and Russian air bases.

Much of its second-largest city, Osh, was on fire yesterday and the sky overhead was black with smoke. Roving mobs of young Kyrgyz men armed with firearms and metal bars marched on minority Uzbek neighbourhoods and set homes on fire, forcing thousands of Uzbeks to flee. Stores were looted and the city was running out of food.

Kyrgyzstan’s third straight day of rioting also engulfed another major southern city, Jalal-Abad, where a rampaging mob burned a university, besieged a police station and seized an armoured vehicle and other weapons from a local military unit.

“It’s a real war,” said local political leader Omurbek Suvanaliyev. “Everything is burning, and bodies are lying on the streets.”

Those driven from their homes rushed towards the border with Uzbekistan. Crowds of frightened women and children made flimsy bridges out of planks and ladders to cross the ditches marking the border.

Interim president Roza Otunbayeva acknowledged that her government had lost control over Osh, a city of 250,000, even though it sent troops, armour and helicopters to quell the riots. Violence spread to the nearby city of Jalal-Abad later.

“The situation in the Osh region has spun out of control,” Ms Otunbayeva said. “Attempts to establish a dialogue have failed and fighting and rampages are continuing. We need outside forces to quell confrontation.”

She asked Russia early yesterday to send in troops, but the Kremlin said it would not meddle in what it described as Kyrgyzstan’s internal conflict.