Update [2005-5-16 22:51:28 by susanhbu]: Uzbek violence spreads as toll rises
Shooting has continued in eastern Uzbekistan where a bloody police crackdown on demonstrators has left up to 700 people dead. Sporadic gunfire was heard on Monday in Andijan where an uprising over the past two days sparked a crackdown by security forces that left up to 500 people dead. A human rights group reported that clashes in another town killed an additional 200 people. (Al Jazeera)
“Uzbek authorities are likely to arrest and eliminate protesters … ushering in a new wave of repression in the ex-Soviet state,” a human rights campaigner told Reuters today. NPR/Slate’s “Day to Day” has the audio report by Monica Whitlock of the BBC, from the Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan. Earlier BooTrib story.