Uzbek refugees wash at the irrigation ditch in a refugee camp near the border with Uzbekistan in Kara Darya, Kyrgyzstan, Wednesday. (AP/Mikhail Metzel)

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) - Uzbek citizens who fled to neighbouring Kyrgyzstan following a violent crackdown on protesters could be killed or tortured if forced to return home, a U.S.-based rights group said Friday, demanding stronger protection for the asylum seekers.

About 500 people crossed into southern Kyrgyzstan and settled in a tent camp after government troops fired on protesters in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan on May 13. The Uzbek government said 169 people died, but rights activists put the toll as high as 750.

Human Rights Watch urged Kyrgyz authorities to move the asylum seekers to a safer location, improve their conditions and ensure that they are not sent home against their will.

"Kyrgyzstan did the right thing by allowing the first wave of Uzbek citizens to enter its territory," Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "But it must ensure respect for the right to seek asylum. If people are pushed back at the border or forcibly returned to Uzbekistan, they could be killed or tortured."

Some Kyrgyz officials said they don't consider Uzbek residents of the camp to be refugees and would send them back. Military Col. Abdumajit Abdurakhmonov, who is in charge of security at the camp, said Monday that authorities already had handed over 85 Uzbeks who had tried to reach the camp.

A Kyrgyz police official said Friday that Kyrgyz authorities had arrested 24 Uzbek residents who tried to cross the border.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of being fired, said their names had been given to Uzbek authorities, who accused one of those arrested of staging riots in Andijan. He and other suspects will be handed over to Uzbek authorities if they provide evidence of their criminal activities, the official said.

Kyrgyzstan has come under strong pressure from Uzbekistan, which already has admonished Kyrgyz officials for letting refugees cross the border. Uzbek President Islam Karimov blamed the Andijan violence on Islamic militants and denied that troops had fired on unarmed civilians.

The United Nations has strongly urged Kyrgyzstan to protect Uzbek refugees in line with its international obligations.

Kalman Mizsei, the UN assistant secretary-general, said Thursday that he had received a pledge from Kyrgyz leaders that Uzbek asylum seekers won't be expelled.

Human Rights Watch said Friday that the refugee camp's location on disputed territory near the border makes it unsafe and added that poor conditions in the camp and its restrictions on access make it essentially a detention centre.

"The camp should be moved as quickly as possible to safer ground," Cartner said. "And the international community should provide the Kyrgyz government with sufficient resources to meet the needs of all asylum seekers and refugees."

Mizsei, who had visited the camp near the border town of Kara Darya in southern Kyrgyzstan, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees was working with the Uzbek asylum seekers to improve conditions in the camp. He said the UN would work with other governments to accommodate the refugees in other nations.

Cartner also expressed concern about allegations that Kyrgyz authorities were handing over names and addresses of asylum seekers to Uzbek authorities, saying they could use the information to retaliate against their relatives back home.

"If Kyrgyzstan grants Uzbek officials access to information and procedures affecting the refugees, it will turn the hallowed tradition of asylum into a farce," Cartner said.

In response to a question on calls by the United Nations, European Union, United States and NATO for an international probe of the Andijan violence, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday that an investigation was necessary, but he declined to endorse an international probe.

He said the Uzbek parliamentary panel formed to look into the Andijan events should concentrate on the causes of the violence, including who had helped seize "first a police post, then a military unit, weapons, government buildings and hostages."

The Uzbek parliament consists entirely of pro-government lawmakers.

Lavrov said there was information that "outside forces" were involved.

"We are talking about stemming the threats of international terrorism in this extraordinarily important strategic region," Lavrov said at a news conference at the Lithuanian border town of Kybartai, according to a transcript provided Friday by the Russian Foreign Ministry.