Tag Archives: kyrgyzstan

The government of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has been overthrown by the opposition, led by Temir Sariyev. A provisional government has been formed and is being led by former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva. More than 100 people were reported killed during the day’s fighting.

Opposition protesters killed the interior minister; captured the deputy prime minister; stormed the state-run television station during a revolt in Bishkek and Talas; and overran the regional government in Naryn. Security forces have opened fire on protesters and killed at least 12 people. A state of emergency has been declared.

The Kyrgyz Defense Ministry announced it would build a counterterrorism training center in Batken in the South. The US is providing $5 million to build the center, which will be used to train special operations forces to hunt terrorists.

Security forces detained 18 members of a logistical support network that aids groups fighting in Afghanistan. Those arrested included citizens of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. The men reportedly had fought with the Taliban and are likely members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

The government agreed to allow the US to continue using the air base at Manas to support troops in Afghanistan. The yearly lease was raised from $17million to $60 million. Security forces killed fighters from the Islamic Movement for Uzbekistan during a raid on a safe house in western Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan’s parliament voted 78-1 to cancel the lease agreement with the US on the Manas air base. The base is used to move supplies and men into Afghanistan. The US will have 180 days to vacate the base if President Bakiyev signs the bill.

Security forces arrested Abdulkhai Yuldashev, the leader of an al Qaeda linked group that attacked Kyrgyz and Tajik border posts in May 2006, resulting in nine deaths. Yuldashev’s group received funding from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan based out of Pakistan.