Situation under control in Jalalabad; Kazakhstan opens border

Ethnic clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbek ethnic groups in the South Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday killed at least two people and hurt nearly 70, raising fears of a new cycle of violence here a month after a revolt, resulted in bloody clashes between government troops and protesters, followed by clashes between the ethnic groups.

The authorities declared the state of emergency in Jalalabad, where thousands of ethnic Kyrgyz attempted to storm an Uzbek-founded university that serves as the focus of the minority Uzbek community and is called the People’s Friendship University. Among the wounded was a 5-year-old girl who was shot in the abdomen, the Interfax news agency reported.

Meanwhile the local officials said that the salutation in Jalalabad is under the control and there were not any new clashes and incidents at night. Kazakhstan lifted up the blocking at the border with Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, in particular, at the checkpoints of Kordai, Sypatay Batyr, and Aisha-Bibi.