[Mb-civic] CBC News - UZBEK VICTIMS SHOT IN BACK OF HEAD: OPPOSITION

Tue May 17 17:12:24 PDT 2005

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UZBEK VICTIMS SHOT IN BACK OF HEAD: OPPOSITION
WebPosted Tue May 17 08:40:37 2005

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan---The death toll from weekend violence in Uzbekistan
is 745 and rising, an opposition leader in the former Soviet republic
said Tuesday.

Nigara Khidoyatova also said many of those reportedly killed by troops
during anti-government protests were shot in the back of the head,
possibly as they tried to flee.

Khidoyatova's Free Peasants party came up with the list of casualties
after hearing from relatives of those killed, she said.

A total of 542 people died in the city of Andijan, where the violence
began with a mass jail break early Friday morning, and another 203 were
killed in the town of Pakhtabad, a short distance away, said Khidoyatova.

The human rights group Appeal had earlier estimated that about 700 Uzbeks
died in the violence, and another 2,000 were injured.

 FROM MAY 16, 2005: Uzbek protest toll now 700: rights group

Prosecutor-General Rashid Kadyrov disputed those numbers Tuesday, saying
he can confirm the deaths of 169 people, 32 of whom were government
troops and the rest of whom were extremists.

"Only terrorists were liquidated by government forces," he insisted at a
news conference as President Islam Karimov stood nearby.

Two days earlier, Uzbekistan's authoritarian government had said only
about a dozen people were killed, calling the casualties "Muslim
extremists."

The United States considers the president of Uzbekistan an ally, so its
reaction to the alleged massacre was carefully worded.

The State Department deplored the prison break that kicked off the riots
in Andijan, saying some extremists who have been linked to terrorism were
released in the confusion, and criticized demonstrators for using weapons
in their protest.

However, the statement also said the department was "deeply disturbed" by
reports that troops had fired on the protesters.

In another development Tuesday, a small demonstration took place in front
of the U.S. Embassy in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent.

The protesters called on Uzbek authorities to provide people with the
truth about what is happening in Andijan.

The city has been sealed off since the violence began.