Heavy arms fire rung out again over the Kyrgyz city of Osh before dawn Wednesday as authorities struggled to bring order to the Central Asian country's south after days of deadly ethnic riots.
The violence - which erupted last Thursday in Osh between the majority Kyrgyz population and Uzbeks and spread to surrounding regions - has prompted more than 100,000 Uzbeks to flee for their lives to Uzbekistan, with tens of thousands more camped on the Kyrgyz side of the border or stranded in a no man's land.
Ethnic Uzbeks held their positions in one of the suburbs of Osh on Wednesday, setting up barricades on streets leading to their neighbourhoods in an attempt to prevent further attacks.
The official death count from the past week of violence rose to 189 on Wednesday, with 1,910 wounded, the Health Ministry said.
But observers believe the real toll is much higher, with many victims being buried quickly in keeping with Muslim tradition.