Violence Spreads in Kyrgyzstan

Despite curfews and a state of emergency, ethnic violence continued to rock Kyrgyzstan over the weekend, leaving dozens of people dead and more than 1,000 injured. The fighting is centered on the city of Osh, where clashes between Uzbek and Kyrgyz youths sparked riots on Thursday night. Losing control of the situation, the Kyrgyz interim government—which came to power after a violent uprising this spring—has given police permission to shoot protesters in the street. Now, the riots are also threatening to spread to the city of Jalal-Abad, where more than 5,000 young people gathered to demand transportation to Osh. Uzbekistan has now closed its border with Kyrgyzstan, while Russia has said it saw no reason to get involved yet.