Raid Kills Four Militants in Kyrgyzstan
- 13 years ago
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In Kyrgyzstan, special forces killed four Islamist rebels during a raid in the southern city of Osh. The Central Asian state is grappling with the threats from militants while trying to form a new government.
Kyrgyz special forces shot three members of a banned Islamist group and a fourth was killed after detonating a grenade in the city of Osh on Monday.
(Kyrgyz, female)
"I was sitting near the railway station, selling stuff. Then there were two explosions and traffic police arrived. People started to run away, so we packed our stuff and ran away as well."
Kyrgyzstan is an impoverished former Soviet republic. It suffered its worst ethnic violence in June when more than 400 people were killed in clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in the city of Osh.
After elections last month, the country is attempting to form the first parliamentary democracy in Central Asia, a region otherwise governed by authoritarian presidents. Critics of the new government say it lacks authority in the volatile south.
The Security Council official said preliminary reports suggested the militants could have belonged to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. It is an al Qaeda-linked group whose exiled members are fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
There are no accurate figures on membership of the group, although some estimates put it at 8,000 in Kyrgyzstan alone.
In Kyrgyzstan, special forces killed four Islamist rebels during a raid in the southern city of Osh. The Central Asian state is grappling with the threats from militants while trying to form a new government.
Kyrgyz special forces shot three members of a banned Islamist group and a fourth was killed after detonating a grenade in the city of Osh on Monday.
(Kyrgyz, female)
"I was sitting near the railway station, selling stuff. Then there were two explosions and traffic police arrived. People started to run away, so we packed our stuff and ran away as well."
Kyrgyzstan is an impoverished former Soviet republic. It suffered its worst ethnic violence in June when more than 400 people were killed in clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in the city of Osh.
After elections last month, the country is attempting to form the first parliamentary democracy in Central Asia, a region otherwise governed by authoritarian presidents. Critics of the new government say it lacks authority in the volatile south.
The Security Council official said preliminary reports suggested the militants could have belonged to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. It is an al Qaeda-linked group whose exiled members are fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
There are no accurate figures on membership of the group, although some estimates put it at 8,000 in Kyrgyzstan alone.