UZBEKISTAN: Troops opened fire into crowds of demonstrators in eastern Uzbekistan yesterday, killing at least 50 and wounding many more during anti-government protests.
Eyewitnesses said the troops fired at point-blank range into the protesters after they took control of the main square of the town of Andijan.
The protests began when demonstrators stormed a prison in the morning to free 23 suspects accused by the authorities of being Islamic militants.
This violence comes amid rising tension in the Central Asian republic, where protesters have accused the government of Islam Karimov of ever harsher repression.
In a separate incident a suspected suicide bomber was shot dead by security guards outside the Israeli embassy in the capital, Tashkent.
European Union officials condemned the Uzbek security forces for heavy-handed action against protesters.
"The protests are an indication of the tension built up by the government that has not paid sufficient respect to human rights, rule of law and poverty alleviation," a spokesman for the EU's executive commission said.
Meanwhile the United States blamed protesters for the fighting, describing the freed prisoners as terrorists.
"We are concerned about the outbreak of violence, particularly by some members of a terrorist organisation that were freed from prison," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.
"We urge both the government and the demonstrators to exercise restraint at this time."
Russia last night offered unspecified assistance to Uzbekistan's government.
The protests began early in the morning. After a week of demonstrations outside the city jail, protesters yesterday took over the building without casualties, freeing more than 2,000 prisoners. The government said the prisoners included terrorism suspects, but protesters insisted the charges were manufactured.
They then marched on the town centre and were joined by townspeople to stage a second bloodless takeover, this time of the city's regional government headquarters.
Many of the protesting men wore square black embroidered skullcaps, while some wore the white skullcaps favoured by observant Muslim Uzbeks. The protesters posted their own guards on the perimeter of the square. Eyewitnesses and journalists said troops then arrived in armoured personnel carriers.
After surrounding the square, the troops opened fire with rifles and heavy weapons at the unarmed demonstrators.
In the panic that followed bodies were left lying on the square while bystanders rushed dozens of wounded to hospital.
One man sobbed: "My son is dead". At least two children were among the dead, but witnesses said the troops kept firing into the crowds.
Later in the evening troops stormed the government headquarters. A group of the town's human rights officials last night appealed for outside intervention, saying the town was surrounded by soldiers and the inhabitants were terrified.
A local website claimed "several hundred" demonstrators had been killed by the soldiers.
President Karimov reportedly flew to the city from the capital last night for talks with the rebels, but returned without an agreement.
A government spokesman described the protesters as "terrorists and criminals".
More troops were last night ordered to the city, which lies in a region where opposition to the government is strong.
Meanwhile, reports in the Russian media said security guards at the Israeli embassy in Tashkent opened fire when a man walked towards the front entrance yesterday morning.
When he was ordered to stop, he shouted anti-Israeli slogans and was then shot in the leg. The report said the man continued to crawl towards the embassy and was shot dead. The report did not say whether he carried a weapon.