By a decree of Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the president of the poorest former Soviet state, Osmonaly Guronov was appointed acting Interior Minister of Kyrgyzstan.
Guronov, who previously headed the ministry's department in the fight against extremism and illegal migration, replaced Murat Sutalinov, who in turn was appointed head of the National Security Service.
President Bakiyev also appointed Bakytbek Kalyev head of the country's State Protection Service, which provides security for state officials, high-ranking guests and important state facilities.
The previous head of the State Protection Service, Artur Medetbekov, was appointed deputy head of the National Security Service.
In another major change in the country's law enforcement sector, Bakiyev appointed Tokon Mamytov head of the Kyrgyz Security Council. Earlier in the day, the president dismissed the former head of the Security Council, Miroslav Niyazov, who resigned after a series of scandals.
Heads have rolled in the Central Asian country since the opposition leader Omurbek Tekebayev was seized in a Warsaw airport September 6 with half a kilogram of heroin. Pressed by parliament to look into the Security Council's inaction, President Bakiyev pledged to find another job for Niyazov after his vacation.
The Polish authorities soon released Tekebayev, considering the incident a provocation against the opposition leader, but a parliamentary commission claimed that Kyrgyz secret services were involved in the incident and pressured the president to dismiss National Security Service Chairman Busurmankula Tabaldiyev and first deputy head Zhanybek Bakiyev, the president's younger brother.
In mid-September, the security services were also under pressure from lawmakers over the arrest of a top intelligence official as part of an investigation into the murder of a prominent international wrestler in January.
