By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The toll in the riots in the Kyrgyz
capital has risen to 40 Wednesday as clashes between protesters and the police continued, forcing the president to declare a state of emergency to quell the unrest.
Kyrgyz health ministry said 40 people were killed and some 400 injured in the clashes in Bishkek. It earlier said 17 people were killed and over 140 injured.
Most of the victims reportedly died of gunshot wounds.
The protests started in the town of Talas in northwestern Kyrgyzstan Tuesday and spread to other parts of the Central Asian country, including the capital Bishkek.
The opposition, whose supporters seized several state establishments in Bishkek, has demanded the government to transfer power to it.
Protesters were also demanding the release of opposition leaders detained Tuesday and Wednesday.
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev Wednesday declared a state of emergency in Bishkek and the Kyrgyz parliament has urged the protesters to end the
protest.
A human rights activist said most of the opposition leaders detained in the town of Talas in northwestern Kyrgyzstan have been released.
Broadcasting at the state-run KTR television in Bishkek was interrupted for about an hour after protesters have seized the building. They set on fire the attorney general’s office in Bishkek.
Some media reports said protesters have also seized government buildings in Chuysk, Narynsk and Issyk-Kul regions.
Witnesses said some police officers were injured in clashes after protesters seized a Chuysk regional government building in Tokmok.
Almazbek Atambayev, former prime minister and leader of the Social Democratic Party, was detained at his home Tuesday. A journalist and a
cameraman, who were interviewing the politician when police arrived, were also detained. They were later released.
Police estimated there were several thousand protesters on the streets in the capital.
Russia has called on the Kyrgyz authorities to avoid violence.
“As we are interested in preserving political stability in a country that is friendly to us, we consider it important to resolve the issues raised by the current situation by legal means,” Russian foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.
Major political unrest started in Kyrgyzstan last month, with opposition parties accusing the government of tightening its grip on power while
failing to bring stability and economic growth.
Kyrgyzstan, where Russia and the US have military bases, has been unstable since Bakiyev came to power, toppling his long-serving predecessor Askar Akayev, in 2005.