Kyrgyzstan’s interim leader appealed to Russia on Saturday to send troops to the south of the country as ongoing clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbek groups left over 60 dead.
Roza Otunbayeva’s comments came after she had spoken by phone to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin late on Friday.
Hundreds of people have also been injured in the inter-ethnic violence, which began in southern Kyrgyzstan’s city of Osh on Thursday evening.
Osh was the stronghold of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who was overthrown following massive riots in early April, and some reports blame his supporters for starting the latest unrest.
Kyrgyzstan has seen frequent clashes since Bakiyev, who is now in Belarus, was deposed, but this is the most serious violence so far.
“The situation has gotten out of control since yesterday evening and we need outside military forces to arrest the situation,” Otunbayeva said. “In connection with this, we are turning to Russia.”
She also said that “Uzbek, Russian and Tatar” ethnic groups were being targeted and that the death toll in the region was “higher than you or I know.”
Refugees, mainly Uzbek women and children, have been making their way to the border with Uzbekistan. There are reports that a child has been killed in the crush to leave Kyrgyzstan.
The UN has appealed for calm and has called on Kyrgyzstan's interim government to "pay particular attention to inter-ethnic relations in the country."
Both Russia and the U.S. have military bases in the former Soviet republic, which many experts fear may now be on the brink of civil war.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that he was confident the government in Bishkek would resolve the situation, but that Russia was ready to help if necessary.
"All the problems of Kyrgyzstan have internal roots. They are rooted in the weakness of the former authorities and their unwillingness to take care of the people's needs. I believe all the existing problems will be resolved by the Kyrgyz authorities. The Russian Federation will help," he said.
However, he also said that troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) post-Soviet security bloc would not enter Kyrgyzstan as this was only possible in the case of an attack on the country by a foreign state.
The CSTO includes Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan
A highly-placed source told journalists on Saturday that Russian troops stationed at the Kant military base in Kyrgyzstan, some 20 km south of the capital Bishkek, would not be deployed to Osh.
“This unit has its own clear mission and it will not be involved in other tasks,” the source said.
Hospitals say they are unable to feed the injured and attempts are being made to bring in supplies from other areas of the country..
Medics have been unable to reach many of the injured people due to the fighting.
“Our doctors practically didn’t go out on calls at night because they were afraid,” Osh’s top doctor was quoted by the 24 kg news agency as saying.
He also added that those doctors that had attempted to reach the injured had been attacked.
MOSCOW / BISHKEK, June 12 (RIA Novosti)
