Kyrgyz interim gov't warns of violence around capital
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Kyrgyz interim Deputy Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev warned on Tuesday that the riots in southern Kyrgyzstan, which had killed at least 170 people, could spread to the country's capital Bishkek and Chui region in the north.
Speaking to reporters in Bishkek, Atambayev described violence in southern city Osh as "premeditated," but said that the interim government was well prepared for possible violence in Bishkek and Chui.
The death toll has risen to 170 from riots in southern Kyrgyzstan which began on June 10, with 1,762 people injured, the country's health ministry said on Tuesday.
The mounting tensions prompted the Kyrgyz interim government to declare a state of emergency, impose curfews in Osh and Jalalabad, and grant shoot-to-kill powers to troops and police in their mission to quell the unrest.
The latest clashes followed violence in May when supporters of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev clashed with supporters of the interim government in Osh and Jalalabad.
An estimated 80,000 people in Kyrgyzstan have been forced to flee their homes since clashes broke out last week, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday.
Neighboring Uzbekistan has already taken in 45,000 adults refugees from Kyrgyzstan and decided to close its borders for the time being.
Russia's Emergencies Ministry would send three planes of humanitarian aid to Kyrgyzstan following the deadly ethnic clashes, said an official from the ministry on Tuesday.
"Three IL-76 planes are to deliver 129 tons of humanitarian aid in total, each carrying about 43 tons including 5,000 blankets, 10 tons of sugar, 17 tons of tinned meat and 4 tons of tinned fish," RIA Novosti news agency quoted Nikolay Pakhomov as saying.
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