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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia | |
| Moscow-led bloc may try to quell Kyrgyz clashes | |
| 2010-06-16 | |
| [Dawn] The UN political chief called on Monday for the urgent creation of a humanitarian corridor for aid to be delivered in Kyrgyzstan, where ethnic violence has killed at least 124 people. The official, Lynn Pascoe, made the call during a briefing to the Security Council on the situation in the Central Asian state. The members of the 15-nation body condemned violence in Kyrgyzstan and called for calm, the council president said. Clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbek residents in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad began late on Thursday and escalated over the weekend. A UN statement said Pascoe told the council the United Nations was trying to help people affected by the violence and by shortages of food, water and electricity, especially in Osh. A UN emergency global appeal was expected to be launched this week, it said. "In light of the security situation in the South, Pascoe said the creation of a humanitarian space or corridor in Kyrgyzstan for the UN and others to deliver assistance to people in need is an urgent necessity," the statement said. "We talked about the need to get something in there right away to make it so we could get the humanitarian stuff through," Pascoe told reporters after the meeting. "It's also a great concern of ours about the refugees -- whether they can get across the border," he added, referring to the Uzbekistan border to where thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have fled. "What we are trying to do is get (Uzbekistan) enough assistance there that they can feel comfortable with additional refugees coming through." The statement said Pascoe told the council the situation in Kyrgyzstan demanded "urgent action by the international community" to help the Kyrgyz government prevent the situation from deteriorating further. But it remained unclear what action the Security Council could take. A group of ex-Soviet states on Monday proposed sending helicopters and equipment to help the government in Bishkek. Mexican Ambassador Claude Heller, current president of the council, said the body expressed support for efforts by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "and different regional organisations in order to deal in a proper way with the situation." Council members "condemned continued acts of violence in the Kyrgyz Republic and noted the need to support the delivery of humanitarian assistance in an urgent manner," Heller told reporters. They also "called for calm, a return of rule of law and order and a peaceful resolution of differences," he said.
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| Posted by:Fred |