Kyrgyzstan needs more aid from the international community to return to normal life after the damage caused by the recent interethnic clashes in the south of the country, Kyrgyz Deputy Premier Almazbek Atambayev said on Thursday.
"In spite of the border being closed, the republic continues to develop, but we can't restore the devastated South on our own," Atambayev said in time of a meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Eric Schwartz.
"The main goal now is to provide housing for those affected," he said.
Clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, who account for about 15% of Kyrgyzstan's population, broke out in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh on June 11, lasting several days and spreading to nearby Jalalabad. The official death toll exceeds 290, but the actual death count could be ten times higher.
Officials say over 110,000 fled to Uzbekistan in an attempt to escape the worst interethnic violence to erupt in Kyrgyzstan in 20 years.
The United Nations says a total of 400,000 people have been displaced by the unrest.
BISHKEK, July 1 (RIA Novosti)
