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Opposition Protesters Take Over South Kyrgyz City
Sun Mar 20, 2005 4:06 PM ET
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By Michael Steen DZHALAL ABAD, Kyrgyzstan (Reuters) - Thousands of people stormed government buildings on Sunday and at least four policemen were reported beaten to death as protests against President Askar Akayev swelled in southern Kyrgyzstan. Akayev warned last week that any attempt to copy the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine, another ex-Soviet state, could lead to civil war. But Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev said the government wanted a peaceful resolution: "We have never gone against our own people, especially not with weapons in our hands." The opposition, protesting against what it says were rigged parliamentary elections, effectively seized control of the southern Kyrgyz town of Dzhalal Abad, following protests on Friday in nearby Osh, and in two other regions in the south. A police source in the capital Bishkek said four policemen had been beaten to death in Dzhalal Abad in clashes that erupted after police fired shots but failed to stop the demonstrators. "The police opened fire, and I saw with my own eyes that four people got hit by ricochets," said demonstrator Abdul Kambarov, his cheek cut and trousers ripped. The opposition said six of its protesters were injured. "I was sitting on the main staircase when the special forces stormed the building. I grabbed the legs of one of them as he was running up stairs and another one beat me in the face with a rubber truncheon," said Dzhumakhan Amadalyeva, 59, her face heavily bruised. Protesters later surged back to the building, the city's main administration building. Amateur video showed a police chief asking the crowd to let his forces, mostly inexperienced young men, to leave the scene unharmed. Protesters formed a corridor to let them out but made them leave riot gear behind. Government buildings were burning and streets were strewn with broken glass -- caused, witnesses said, by protesters throwing petrol bombs to force police to leave the town. By late evening, drunken youths were roaming the streets and there was no sign of police or troops.
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© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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