Bishkek
Opposition groups said they had seized power in Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday after taking control of government buildings during post-election protests in the strategically important Central Asian state.
President Sooronbai Jeenbekov said the country, which hosts a Russian air base and a large Canadian-controlled gold mine, was facing an attempted coup d’etat.
He called for calm and ordered security forces not to open fire on protesters after overnight unrest in which the government said one person was killed at 590 wounded. Officials said later the vote would be rerun, but it was not clear who would run it.
Burnt out cars littered Bishkek, the capital, after protesters stormed the main government building, known as the White House, which briefly caught fire before emergency services put out the blaze.
Debris from inside, including government papers, and office furniture, was strewn outside after protesters ransacked parts of it.
Kyrgyzstan, which borders China and is a close ally of Russia, has long been a platform for geopolitical competition between Moscow, Washington and Beijing and has a history of political volatility: two of its presidents have been toppled by revolts in the past 15 years.
The opposition said it had set up a coordination council and was discussing the line-up of a provisional government. “The leaders of parties that took part in the election have assumed responsibility for restoring public order,” the council said.
Opposition groups also had freed Almazbek Atambayev, a former president jailed on corruption charges after falling out with Jeenbekov. Atambayev was not named to any role, however, and Jeenbekov showed no immediate signs of relinquishing power.— Reuters
