Sun May 15, 2005 07:18 AM ET

www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8493567

 
By Dmitry Solovyov
ANDIZHAN, Uzbekistan (Reuters) – The families of some of the estimated 500 people killed by Uzbek troops in Andizhan buried their dead on Sunday to the sound of continued sniper fire in the eastern town.

Two days after an uprising in the mostly Muslim Central Asian state’s Ferghana Valley, wet blood and body parts hastily covered in soil coat the pavements, streets, and gutters in the center of this leafy city of 300,000 people.

Human rights campaigner Saidzhakhon Zainabitdinov estimated that up to 500 people may have been killed, which would make it the bloodiest incident in Uzbekistan’s post-Soviet history.

The slaying sparked panic in some quarters, causing up to 4,000 people to flee to the closed border with Kyrgyzstan.

On Friday, armed rebels broke comrades standing trial for religious extremism out of prison, took 10 police hostage and occupied Andizhan’s local government building.

Around 3,000 protesters opposed to President Islam Karimov staged a rally outside, which troops later dispersed by opening fire.

“They shot at us like rabbits,” said a boy in his late teens standing outside School Number 15. Witnesses say part of the crowd fled toward the school, only to be caught in crossfire.

The two-storey school’s facade is pockmarked with at least 20 bullet holes, haphazardly grouped, and pools of wet blood mixed with water and dirt can be seen in the blocked open drains. A blood-soaked baseball cap lies in some bushes.

Karimov, a close ally in the U.S. war on terrorism since giving Washington an airbase in 2001, said on Saturday 10 police and troops had been killed and a higher number of rebels. He gave no figure for civilians killed.

ISLAMISTS?
Karimov, criticized by Western human rights groups for jailing dissident Muslims, said the rebels belonged to the outlawed Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir and were to blame for the violence. Hizb ut-Tahrir denied involvement.

At one of the many cemeteries that dot the city, grave digger Wahhabjon Mominov said on Sunday he had already dug four graves in the morning.

A pall of black smoke could be seen rising from the building seized by rebels and sporadic sniper fire could be heard.

A security services officer said troops were “mopping up a few remaining fighters.”

Nearby southern Kyrgyzstan, also part of the Ferghana Valley, is home to many ethnic Uzbeks and was the starting point for violent protests earlier this year which led to the overthrow of President Askar Akayev.

The Kyrgyz coup followed the peaceful overthrow of established leaders in Ukraine and Georgia, where the United States backed mass protests.

But analysts say Washington’s strategic interest in Uzbekistan — the airbase used for Afghan operations and its proximity to oil-rich Kazakhstan — may make it hard for it to support popular resistance to Karimov.

Karimov’s hardline rule, and the country’s stagnant economy, began to face violent challenges last year when militants engaged in shoot-outs with police and carried out bombings in the capital Tashkent, killing at least 50. But there have also been spontaneous protests by impoverished market traders.

Analysts say his tight grip on security forces and — in contrast to Kyrgyzstan’s Akayev — willingness to use them make a serious challenge unlikely. Uzbekistan is one of the world’s leading cotton exporters, produces gold and has some oil and gas reserves. But its largely state-controlled economy has failed to attract investment.

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