Kyrgyz National Security Committee head says ready to resign after soldier's death in Atambayev house storming
BISHKEK. Aug 8 (Interfax) - Head of Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security Orozbek Opumbayev has said he is ready to resign after 19 special forces officers were injured and another one was killed during an attempt to detain the country's former President Almazbek Atambayev.
"The [Kyrgyz] Security Council met this morning. I told President Sooronbai Jeenbekov that I want to hand in my resignation, that it is my fault and I admit that it was necessary to send all of my 3,500 soldiers, in which case it wouldn't have happened," he told parliamentarians.
Special operations forces of the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security attempted to detain Atambayev in the village of Koi-Tash, located 20 kilometers from the country's capital Bishkek, on August 7. The former president was not detained. More than 50 people were injured in the operation. A special operations forces officer died of a gunshot wound.
Opumbayev said in parliament earlier that Atambayev's supporters had seized firearms from the special forces' reserve group.
"Atambayev's supporters used physical force and seized 36 slide-action rifles, 14 Kalashnikov assault rifles, 15 pistols and ammunition for them," he said.