Police say situation in Kyrgyz south 'under control'

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Riots that erupted overnight in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh have been brought under police control, a spokesman for the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry said on Friday

Riots that erupted overnight in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh have been brought under police control, a spokesman for the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry said on Friday.

"The situation has been brought under control by the law enforcement forces; the shoot outs in Osh have ended," the spokesman said.

Riots broke out in Osh on Thursday night, reportedly after a fight between locals and members of the city's Uzbek population. Groups of youths rampaged through the city, setting fire to cars and buildings and breaking shop windows. Unrest spread across the city and its surrounding region.

Kyrgyzstan's interim government has imposed a state of emergency in Osh and its surrounding regions until June 20.

More than 1,000 servicemen and police have been deployed to patrol the area and blocks have been set up on the road that leads to the city. An investigation into the unrest is ongoing, the spokesman said.

The country's health ministry has reported that the death toll from the riots has reached 14. Some 200 people, most of them suffering gunshot wounds, have sought medical assistance at local hospitals.

Deputy head of the interim government Omurbek Tekebayev told local Azattyk radio station that the republic's authorities have no plans of seeking help from foreign states to stabilize the situation.

Tekebayev said additional military forces from the other Kyrgyz regions have been deployed in Osh. He said the situation in the city could be "completely normalized" by Friday night.

Uprisings have become commonplace in Kyrgyzstan since the overthrow of the republic's government in early April. A series of uprisings broke out across the republic between opposition protesters and security forces, causing the deaths of more than 80 people and injuring around 1,500. An interim government was formed and deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was forced to flee the country and take a refuge in Belarus.

BISHKEK, June 11 (RIA Novosti)

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