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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
Karimov: Andijan Uprising Planned Abroad |
2005-06-29 |
Uzbekistan's authoritarian president said Tuesday that an uprising against his government in May was planned from abroad by mercenaries who "were trained at military training camps." Speaking during a meeting with his Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Islam Karimov said "we have enough facts to prove that the operation was prepared several months and perhaps several years in advance from outside Uzbekistan." Putin said Russian secret services had information about militants crossing from Afghanistan into Central Asia and had warned governments in the region before the uprising in Andijan. The Russian president said he was unsure whether the information was conveyed to Karimov. Moscow has backed the Uzbek leader in his rejection of international demands for an independent investigation into the suppression of the uprising in Andijan, in which rights activists say government troops killed up to 750 people. |
Posted by:Fred |