Blocked

International organizations including the United Nations Population Fund, UNICEF and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)have all stepped up delivery of humanitarian emergency aid to Kyrgyzstan.

Sadly, NGO workers on the ground report that the distribution of food, goods and medical supplies is being hampered by road blocks and violence aimed at aid workers.

UNICEF reported that it had sent supplies that reached Osh, the city where violence first broke out last Thursday, but that due “to the insecure situation” has not yet been successful in getting aid to the South of the country.

 “Near the airport today there were some shootings, and people were saying that they don’t want the assistance to be distributed,” said Larisa Kuznecova of Charity Fund in Osh on June 15.

 “Those people are shooting at anything that moves towards them,” says Elmira Jodosheva, the head of a group monitoring the distribution of humanitarian aid in Osh. “There are some areas in Osh where Uzbek neighbourhoods are barricaded. Plus, there are many mixed neighbourhoods of ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks who have barricaded their areas  to protect their houses,” she adds.

The violence has forced more than 100,000 ethnic Uzbeks to flee to neighbouring Uzbekistan. They are now located in 75 camps located around the city of Andijan.

UNICEF sent, June 15, seven trucks carrying emergency supplies to the camps. Valued at $100,000, supplies included tents, cloths, blankets, health kits and kitchen sets.

Some good news, Kyrgyzstan’s interim leader Roza Otunbayeva said Tuesday that inter-ethnic violence seemed to be abating.

Violence broke out in Osh June 10 between ethnic Uzbeks and ethnic Kyrgyz. It was reported that it started when Kyrgyz mobs attacked Uzbek villages. On Sunday Kyrgyz men had taken control of most of Osh and violence started to spread to Jalal-Abad.

Most Uzbeks fled the country and those that stayed have barricaded themselves into their homes.

Official reports say that 124 people have died and that 1,500 have been injured. Most observers agree that actual numbers are much higher.

Observers speculate that the eruption of violence is linked to the June 27 constitutional referendum.

The government has pointed the finger at the ousted ex-President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.  They claim that Bakiyev’s family instigated the violence in the hopes of stalling not only a referendum but also the government election scheduled for October.

Bakiyev has denied this accusation.