Death toll rises to 97, Pakistanis still trapped in Kyrgyzstan
BISHKEK:
More than 150 Pakistani students are still trapped in hostels as the death toll rose to 97 during violence clashes in Kyrgyzstan on Sunday.
Parents of the stranded students addressed the media in Kala Shah Kakku and said that the government is not making all out efforts to recover its nationals. Mrs Jameela Yaseen, Mother of Furqan and Hina Yaseen, said that bombs were exploding outside the building her children had taken refuge in.
Earlier, resident of Jhang, Ali Raza lost his life in a bomb explosion in the violence hit city.
Four Pakistan students managed to home safely. The students, Zubair Ahmad, Fida Hussain, Obaidullah and Junaid Ahmad belong to Jacobabad and Khairpur, told Express news that Pakistani students were confined to hostels and colleges in basements and rooms.
Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Dr. Farooq Sattar lamented the violence in Kyrgyzstan and vowed that every possible effort will be made to recover the abducted Pakistanis.
Meanwhile, Russia sent hundreds of paratroopers to Kyrgyzstan to protect its military facilities.
Kyrgyzstan's interim government on Sunday imposed a 24-hour curfew in the southern city of Osh and two neighbouring districts, where ethnic clashes have left 97 dead and over 1,000 wounded.
"In the city of Osh, the Kara-Suu district and the Aravan district of the Osh region, a round-the-clock curfew has been imposed," the interior ministry said in a statement.
The provisional government also announced Sunday it was calling up all military reservists aged 18 to 50 in its effort to stem the violence.
Kyrgyzstan's interim government, which took power in the ex-Soviet state on the back of deadly riots in April, has struggled to contain the growing unrest, and late on Saturday gave shoot-to-kill orders to the police and military.
The authorities had also declared a second state of emergency in the southern city of Jalalabad, as the violence spread across the south of the Central Asian state, raising the spectre of civil war.
The conflict first erupted in the Osh region late Thursday when brawls between ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks escalated into running street battles, prompting the government to impose a curfew and state of emergency.
Cars were smashed and burned, and buildings set on fire, in the city, which was once the stronghold of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
More than 150 Pakistani students are still trapped in hostels as the death toll rose to 97 during violence clashes in Kyrgyzstan on Sunday.
Parents of the stranded students addressed the media in Kala Shah Kakku and said that the government is not making all out efforts to recover its nationals. Mrs Jameela Yaseen, Mother of Furqan and Hina Yaseen, said that bombs were exploding outside the building her children had taken refuge in.
Earlier, resident of Jhang, Ali Raza lost his life in a bomb explosion in the violence hit city.
Four Pakistan students managed to home safely. The students, Zubair Ahmad, Fida Hussain, Obaidullah and Junaid Ahmad belong to Jacobabad and Khairpur, told Express news that Pakistani students were confined to hostels and colleges in basements and rooms.
Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Dr. Farooq Sattar lamented the violence in Kyrgyzstan and vowed that every possible effort will be made to recover the abducted Pakistanis.
Meanwhile, Russia sent hundreds of paratroopers to Kyrgyzstan to protect its military facilities.
Kyrgyzstan's interim government on Sunday imposed a 24-hour curfew in the southern city of Osh and two neighbouring districts, where ethnic clashes have left 97 dead and over 1,000 wounded.
"In the city of Osh, the Kara-Suu district and the Aravan district of the Osh region, a round-the-clock curfew has been imposed," the interior ministry said in a statement.
The provisional government also announced Sunday it was calling up all military reservists aged 18 to 50 in its effort to stem the violence.
Kyrgyzstan's interim government, which took power in the ex-Soviet state on the back of deadly riots in April, has struggled to contain the growing unrest, and late on Saturday gave shoot-to-kill orders to the police and military.
The authorities had also declared a second state of emergency in the southern city of Jalalabad, as the violence spread across the south of the Central Asian state, raising the spectre of civil war.
The conflict first erupted in the Osh region late Thursday when brawls between ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks escalated into running street battles, prompting the government to impose a curfew and state of emergency.
Cars were smashed and burned, and buildings set on fire, in the city, which was once the stronghold of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.