The death toll in the southern Kyrgyz ethnic clashes has risen to 261 people, Kyrgyzstan's health ministry said Thursday.
According to official information, the number of injured now stands at 2,231, including 1,040 hospitalized and 1,198 patients who received out-patient treatment.
Kyrgyz authorities admit, though, that the actual number of casualties may be ten times higher.
Clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, who account for about 15% of Kyrgyzstan's population, broke out in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh on June 11, lasting several days and spreading to nearby Jalalabad.
UNICEF says over 100,000 refugees fled to neighboring Uzbekistan during the clashes, while the United Nations says around 400,000 have been displaced by the unrest.
Some 70,000 displaced persons have returned to Kyrgyzstan so far, including 25,864 people who crossed the border in the past 24 hours, the 24.kg agency earlier said.
The situation in Kyrgyzstan remains highly volatile, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) proposed on Wednesday sending international police to prevent the spread of violence in the Central Asian republic.
BISHKEK, June 24 (RIA Novosti)
