Central & North Asia

Regional Arenas - Central & North Asia

At the time this report is being written, the crisis in Kyrgyzstan, in the heart of Central Asia, remains full-blown.  Although the first fury of violence that engulfed southern Kyrgyzstan in mid-June — leaving behind as many as 2,000 dead and forcing at least 100,000 ethnic Uzbeks to flee to bordering Uzbekistan — is over, major cities in the Kyrgyz part of the Ferghana Valley have not yet returned to normal, and the forces involved in orchestrating the violence are still very active.

The riot that broke out on June 10 in Osh was neither spontaneous nor ethnic by nature. The criminal elements that organized the violence — said to be among the worst outbreaks in Central Asia in 20 years — did so in the hope that the alleged historical animosity between the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in the fertile valley would draw the majority community of Kyrgyz into furthering their civil war plan.  It is to the credit of the Kyrgyz and Uzbek ethnic groups, who have lived next to each other for decades there, that they refused to take the bait.  According to United Nations observers on the ground, groups of gunmen in ski masks were shooting at Kyrgyz and Uzbek alike.  Ordinary people did not get involved in perpetrating the mayhem — at least for now.