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UNREST ATTRACTS MILITANTS TO UZBEK BORDERS

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MOSCOW, May 14 (RIA Novosti) - On eve of the unrests in Andizhan, many militants were concentrated on the junction of the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, said a high-ranking source in the Russian Foreign Ministry.

This information was confirmed to RIA Novosti by sources in the Russian security agencies.

"They are bandits, radical Moslems, members of the Taliban penetrating from Afghanistan", the ministerial source said. Upon regrouping, part of the well-armed militants moved to Uzbekistan.

"They actions were pre-planned - seizure of a military unit and arms, attack on the prison, release of criminal convicts and a large number of extremists and taking of hostages. The goal was not only to destabilize the situation but to explode it in first Andizhan, then in the Fergana valley and the entire Uzbekistan", the interviewee said.

Nothing, even the use of force, stopped militants, the source said. As a result, blood was shed, civilians killed, he continued.

According to the recent reports from Andizhan, the situation is becoming stabilized though tensions remain.

In the early hours of Friday, the prison and administrative buildings were seized by force. Not long ago, troops were moved into the city, made a storm at night and fully liberated the buildings taken by rebels. As a result of the unrest, nine people were killed and 34 wounded, the National News Agency of Uzbekistan reports.

However, western news agencies report that over 50 people were killed and 96 wounded in Andizhan.

"The Russian side resolutely condemns the bandit-like sortie by armed militants and offers deep condolences to the families and relatives of the killed and victims", the source said.

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