Gunfire broke out at a rally where the deposed president of Kyrgyzstan was speaking to supporters Thursday. Kurmanbek Bakiyev was hustled into a car and driven from the scene, and there were no apparent injuries in the crowd.
Bakiyev, accompanied by two of his brothers, returned to his home compound in the village of Teyit about two hours later. He made no comment.
The gunfire occurred seconds after Bakiyev began speaking to the crowd of about 5,000 in Osh, the largest city in the southern region that is Bakiyev's support base.
Although there were no reports of injuries, the gunfire underlined the tensions that persist in the second week of the crisis in the ex-Soviet Central Asian country where both the United States and Russia have military bases.
Witnesses said the shots were fired into the air by Bakiyev's bodyguards, possibly because of concern about a group of Bakiyev opponents who were approaching from a separate rally about 300 meters (yards) away.
After fleeing the capital last week, Bakiyev in recent days has made a series of public appearances, clearly testing how much support he has to try to resist the interim authorities who have taken control in the capital.
"Remain Calm! All is well!"
By: Brant
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2 comments:
That isn't "remain calm" - that is "I surrender". . .
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