By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Bishkek/Moscow : The toll in Kyrgyzstan’s inter-ethnic clashes has risen to 117, a media report said Monday.
The riots between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek groups, that broke out in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad early Friday, left about 1,500 injured, the AKIpress news agency reported.
The border between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan was closed following the riots, during which several vehicles were set on fire and markets looted.
Kyrgyz and Uzbek ethnic leaders in Kyrgyzstan agreed Sunday to begin reconciliation talks.
Meanwhile, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev discussed Sunday the situation in Kyrgyzstan in a telephone conversation with Kyrgyz interim Prime Minister Roza Otunbayeva, president’s spokeswoman Nataliya Timakova said.
“The Russian president stressed that order should be reestablished in the country and ethnic conflict that has led to people’s deaths should be stopped as soon as possible,” Timakova said.
Medvedev told Otunbayeva that the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) would hold a meeting at the level of secretaries Monday to discuss the situation, Timakova said.
CSTO, a post-Soviet security bloc, comprises Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon decided to send his special envoy to Kyrgyzstan.
Russia Sunday sent an additional 150 paratroopers to enhance security at its airbase in Kyrgyzstan.
More than 75,000 ethnic Uzbeks have reportedly fled Kyrgyzstan to take refuge in Uzbekistan following the unrest.