BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN - Opposition leaders declared they had seized power in Kyrgyzstan, taking control of security headquarters, other government buildings and state TV offices in the capital after clashes between police and protesters killed dozens in the Central Asian nation that houses a key U.S. air base.
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who came to power in a similar popular uprising five years ago, was said to have fled to the southern city of Osh, and it was difficult to gauge how much of the country the opposition controlled Wednesday.
"The security service and the Interior Ministry ... all of them are already under the management of new people," said Rosa Otunbayeva, a former foreign minister who opposition leaders said would head the interim government.
Tensions in Kyrgyzstan have been brewing for months and seemed to be touched off in the provincial city of Talas on Tuesday by bloody protests over soaring utility rates. Then, on Wednesday, thousands of people began massing in Bishkek, where they were met by heavily armed riot police.
The Health Ministry said at least 40 people died and more than 400 were injured in the resulting clashes. Opposition activist Toktoim Umetaliyeva said at least 100 people were killed by police gunfire.
U.S. interests at stake
For the United States, the upheaval is of particular concern because its Manas Air Base, on the outskirts of Bishkek, is a key transit point for troops and equipment heading to Afghanistan. The Obama administration negotiated new lease terms for the facility last year after Bakiyev threatened to evict U.S. forces from the country.
Some in the Kyrgyz opposition accused the United States of ignoring allegations of rigged elections, suppression of independent media and physical intimidation of government critics, attributing U.S. silence to a desire to maintain its military presence in Kyrgyzstan by making a deal with Bakiyev.
