Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva has acknowledged that Kyrgyz security forces abused the rights of minority Uzbeks in the wake of deadly ethnic riots in June.
Otunbaeva made the admission in an interview with the French AFP news agency. The admission comes following allegations from rights groups and the United Nations that Kyrgyz security forces targeted Uzbeks after the riots.
Otunbaeva confirmed the allegations and cited specific cases. In one example, Otunbaeva confirmed that a widely reported incident in which two ethnic Uzbeks were killed by officers conducting a sweep in the southern village of Nariman in June were targeted killings.
According to official figures, more than 350 people were killed and tens of thousands were made homeless during the ethnic riots in June between majority Kyrgyz and minority Uzbeks in the southern cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad.
Around 1,000 people
protested in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, today against the interim government.
compiled from agency reports