Uzbeks return to Kyrgyzstan after ethnic clashes

Authorities in Kyrgyzstan said Tuesday that 35,000 refugees had returned to the country from neighbouring Uzbekistan after fleeing there during deadly ethnic clashes.

Reuters

The number could not be independently verified, but a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Uzbekistan said aid workers had seen large numbers of refugees returning across the border.

The Kyrgyz border service statement said 75,000 Kyrgyz citizens fled to Uzbekistan during the violence but international aid groups have put the number at more than 100,000.

Another 300,000 people were forced from their homes within the country.

Large-scale unrest has ceased in the country's south, where officials say up to 2,000 people may have been killed during the ethnic clashes between the majority Kyrgyz and minority Uzbek populations, but tensions remain high in the region.