RFE/RL, 12110, heard here in Kyrgyz at 1500.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

" wrote:

Kyrgyzstan in crisis as clashes escalate

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8607324.stm

AFP's Matthew Siegel at Bishkek protests: "People said that they'd
been shot"

Anti-government protests in Kyrgyzstan have escalated violently, with
17 people killed as police clashed with demonstrators in the capital,
Bishkek.
Protesters attacked President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's offices and stormed
the state TV and radio headquarters, taking them briefly off air.
There are reports police fired live rounds after failing to disperse
people with tear gas and stun grenades.
President Bakiyev has declared a state of emergency in protest-hit
areas.
Leaders arrested
The unrest broke out in the provincial town of Talas on Tuesday and
spread to Bishkek and another town, Naryn, on Wednesday.
In Bishkek, protesters attempted to storm the president's office but
were held back by security forces, who reportedly fired live rounds
into the crowd. The health ministry and an opposition leader said 17
people had been killed.
The minister of health said 180 people had been injured, but did not
say how many were police or protesters.
State media and television went off air briefly after protesters
stormed their offices but resumed broadcasting under government
control.
The protesters in Bishkek appeared to be leaderless, says the BBC's
Rayhan Demytrie in the capital, after a number of opposition heads
were arrested overnight.
Earlier, police had used tear gas and stun grenades to break up crowds
outside an opposition headquarters but the protesters overcame the
police and marched to the presidential offices in the city centre.
Police cars have been overturned and set alight and officers attacked
by the crowd, some of whom were armed.
Gunfire could be heard crackling through the centre of Bishkek and
photographs from the city showed bloodstains on the pavement.
Several dozen activists and opposition politicians rallied in the
capital of Kyrgyzstan on Monday in protest against what they say are
government efforts to block the broadcast of U.S.-funded radio and
television programs.

Critics of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev say the government is trying to
silence Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Kyrgyz service, known
locally as Radio Azattyk, as part of the authorities' attempt to
stifle independent reporting.

Since coming to power in 2005, Bakiyev has tightened his grip over the
impoverished former Soviet nation, prompting fears of deepening
authoritarianism.