Rallies demand demarcation of Kyrgyz-Uzbek border
OSH. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The population in southern Kyrgyzstan is urging the authorities to demarcate the border with Uzbekistan in order to prevent a repeat of events that happened in the region in early January, the Kyrgyz government's envoy for the Batken region Mamazhan Berdishev told Interfax on Thursday.
Clashes erupted between residents of the Uzbek exclave of Sokh and Kyrgyz border guards in the Batken region, located in southern Kyrgyzstan, on January 5, when a Kyrgyz border checkpoint was destroyed and Kyrgyz citizens were beaten and taken hostage.
"Ata-Zhurt faction parliamentarian Ulukbek Kochkorov and Batken region head Seiitmurat Kalykov met with local residents who attended a rally in the village of Charbak," Berdishev said.
During the meeting, demonstrators told the deputy about hardships facing residents of villages located near the border and asked the authorities to sort out problems linked with roads, water, pastures and land, he said.
A similar rally was held outside the regional administration building in the city of Batken. People attending the rally said that the road leading to the village of Bozhoi remains sealed off after the incident in Charbak. Bozhoi residents, who have found themselves in isolation, are running out of food, they said.
