Thousands of opposition activists stormed three government buildings in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh today, forcing security forces to flee in the latest in a wave of protests to demand the resignation of President Askar Akayev.

A group of about 1,000 protesters, armed with clubs and flammable liquid and chanting "Akayev Go!," took control of the main administration building in Osh, the country’s second largest city. Activists had first stormed the building on Friday, but were ousted by security forces on Saturday before retaking the building today.

The protesters then grew in number to about 2,000 and overran the regional police and security stations in the city, about 190 miles south of the capital, Bishkek. Those buildings had been largely evacuated by officials who were anticipating the takeovers.

Abdil Seghizbayev, an Akayev aide, said security forces would not take action against the protesters.

"The Government’s position is to avoid any conflict and sit down at the negotiating table," he said. But talks would be possible only after order is restored in the country, Mr Seghizbayev said.

"Neither authorities nor opposition leaders can control the crowd right now," he said. "If an (opposition) leader emerges who can control the protesters, the Government will be ready to talk to him."

The opposition has launched similar protests in at least eight other cities and towns over the past few weeks. The unrest began early this month to protest against alleged election breaches in parliamentary polls on February 27 and intensified after the subsequent run-offs that the Opposition said were seriously flawed.

Both the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the US State Department have urged peaceful dialogue between the two sides.

But opposition leaders have said that talks would only be possible if Mr Akayev himself sits down at the negotiating table. They seek a "lemon " or "tulip" revolution in the former Soviet republic, inspired by the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the Rose Revolution in Georgia, both of which were triggered by rigged elections.

Mr Akayev, who has been in office since 1990, has repeatedly promised to step down before a presidential election in October in what would be the first democratic transition of power in a region dominated by autocratic Soviet-era leaders. Yet the Opposition accuses Mr Akayev of stuffing parliament with his friends and relatives with a view to changing the Constitution.

The President's son, Aidar, and daughter, Bermet, both won seats in the recent election . The OSCE and the United States have said that both rounds of the poll, on February 27 and March 13, were undemocratic, citing vote-buying, abuse of state media and disqualification of opposition candidates.

Meanwhile, the protesters in Osh gathered on the city’s main square and burned a billboard picture of Akayev. "This is a new day in our history," said Omurbek Tekebayev, a senior official of the opposition Ata-Jurt movement. He said the opposition would create alternative government bodies throughout the country.

"Power in Osh has been taken over by people!" senior opposition figure Anvar Artykov told the protesters. "I congratulate you on our victory and urge you to maintain order."

On Saturday, about 8,000 people protested in three cities. On Sunday, 10,000 opposition supporters stormed a police station in Jalal-Abad, 160 miles south of Bishkek, burning down two of the three buildings at the police station and forcing all the police officers to flee. At least 14 police officers and seven protesters were injured in Sunday’s riot, Mr Seghizbayev said.

Kyrgyzstan is one of the poorest countries in Central Asia, with a population of just five million, but it is strategically important as it has a Russian and an American military base and shares a border with China.