UN Tells Security Council Kyrgyz Tensions Persist

Refugees have been returning to Osh

A top UN official says tension remains in southern Kyrgyzstan, site of recent violence that has killed hundreds and sparked a wave of refugees.

The UN Security Council received a closed-door briefing on the crisis from the UN assistant secretary-general Oscar Fernandez-Taranco.

He said while the situation in Osh and Jalal-Abad had calmed, fears of fresh violence persist.

According to Reuters, Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the crisis was ultimately an internal matter that the Kyrgyz government would need to work out.

(Reuters)