Kyrgyzstan government ousted in violent revolt
President flees capital on small plane
Opponents of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev took control yesterday of Kyrgyzstan after a day of spectacular violence that ended with Mr Bakiyev fleeing the capital of the strategic central Asian state.
Opposition protesters seized the presidential administration yesterday night and announced on state radio that they had formed a provisional government with former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva at its head.
A worker at Bishkek's international airport said that the 60-year-old Bakiyev had fled the capital aboard a small plane as his opponents consolidated their grip on key national institutions.
Opposition leader Temir Sariyev said on Kyrgyz radio that Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov had signed a letter of resignation and Ms Otunbayeva vowed that the new leadership in the country would move quickly to normalise the situation.
"Power is now in the hands of the people's government," Ms Otunbayeva said in an address on state radio.
"Responsible people have been appointed and are already working to normalise the situation."
The fast-moving events in Kyrgyzstan capped a day of ferocious clashes in Bishkek and other cities that quickly turned into a nationwide revolt against Mr Bakiyev that was believed to have left scores dead.
As unrest swept the central Asian republic, the opposition took control of the national television, the prosecutors' office was set alight and state media reported that a deputy prime minister was held hostage in the remote northwest.
The riots were the culmination of spiralling protests in the central Asian nation with the opposition demanding Mr Bakiyev's resignation and accusing his government of rights violations, authoritarianism and economic mismanagement.
Despite briefly arresting three leading opposition figures and declaring a state of emergency, the authorities failed to prevent the rebels from rapidly taking control of some of the main levers of power.
A health ministry official said 47 people had died, many from gunshot wounds, and more than 400 were injured. Officials said that the toll could be expected to rise.
Opposition leader Omurbek Tekebayev said separately that more than 100 people had been killed in the violence.
The United States, which maintains an air base in Kyrgyzstan used in the Nato campaign in nearby Afghanistan, voiced "deep concern", while Russia also appealed for calm in the former Soviet republic.