As ethnic clashes continued in Southern Kyrgyzstan, the Indian Government is making arrangements to evacuate over hundred Indians, mostly students, stranded in the violence-hit areas. The death toll in five days of rioting has crossed 113. The Indians, a majority of them students, are trapped in Kyrgyzstan's southern Osh city, which has been ripped by street fighting and arson. Indian diplomatic sources in the Kyrgyz capital said the mission is arranging for a special aircraft to fly out the Indians from Osh. The mission is in close touch with those trapped in the violence-hit city as well as with the concerned authorities in that country, including their foreign ministry, to ensure safety of the Indian community. Sources added that the mission is also closely monitoring the situation in the nearby city of Jalalabad near the Uzbek border, where the authorities on Sunday declared a state of emergency till 22nd of June and clamped round-the-clock curfew. The interim president Roza Otunbayeva has also conceded that the death toll could be higher than official figures as the interim government struggles to stem the worst ethnic clashes since the end of the Soviet Union.
News On AIR | June 14, 2010 5:51 PM
Centre making arrangements to evacuate Indians from riot torn Kyrgyz