Number dead during Kyrgyzstan violence '10 times higher than thought'

[Ed Barrow]

Source: The Telegraph

The scale of death and displacement during Kyrgyzstan's ethnic violence is feared much higher than official estimates with up to 2,000 victims and one million homeless, according to the government.

Roza Otunbayeva, the interim president, visited the city of Osh, epicentre of the violence and said the number fatalities was likely to be ten times the official death toll of 223.

The UN warned that it was preparing to provide long-term assistance for one million people in the wake of the disturbances.

Mrs Otunbayeva arrived in Osh by helicopter to inspect the damage inflicted by mobs that her government accuses Mr Bakiyev of organising and financing. She said many of the victims were buried before sunset on first day of the fighting. She said: "I would increase by 10 times the official data on the number of people killed."

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/kyrgyzstan/7838424/Number-dead-during-Kyrgyzstan-violence-10-times-higher-than-thought.html

[FarCenter]

1. More about corruption in the Bakiyev adminstration -- the President's son's business dealing with US

Kyrgyzstan threatened to shut down a strategic US airbase unless he is extradited. Maxim Bakiyev, who was questioned at Farnborough airport on Sunday, is the subject of an Interpol arrest warrant to face charges of corruption and misusing state funds. Britain does not have extradition arrangements with Kyrgyzstan but the government has said it is open to sending Mr Bakiyev back to his homeland.

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Mr Bakiyev has close associations to the Manas airbase, which the US uses as a key transportation hub for servicemen engaged in the war in Afghanisation. He is linked to a transportation company Mina Corp, which holds a $70 million fuel contract with the bases.

Mr Bayikev emerged as one of Kyrgyzstan's most powerful businessmen during his father Kurmanbek's rule. The authorities have also said they are investigating his ties to Asia Universal Bank, which transferred $170 million out of Kyrgyzstan on the night his father Kurmanbek was deposed in April.