UZBEKISTAN: An overnight gun-battle in the Uzbek town of Andijan indicated yesterday that pockets of resistance remained days after a massacre in which witnesses said troops killed hundreds of people to quell unrest.
Meanwhile, the United States, hardening its line on its ally in the war on terrorism, said it was "deeply disturbed" by reports that soldiers fired on protesters last Friday.
"We are deeply disturbed by the reports that the Uzbek authorities fired on demonstrators," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. "We certainly condemn the indiscriminate use of force against unarmed civilians and deeply regret any loss of life."
An Uzbek opposition party said it had compiled a list of 745 people killed, the highest estimate. Witnesses and a human rights activist in Andijan put the death toll at about 500, while Uzbekistan's prosecutor general said the toll was 169.
In the capital Tashkent, dozens of human rights and opposition activists gathered outside the US embassy despite police attempts to prevent the rally.
"We want the United States to see Uzbekistan not only as a giant military base in their war on terror, but also as a country where people want freedom and human rights," said Akhtam Shaimardanov, a member of a small opposition party.
"War is just about to break out in Uzbekistan. We want them [the US] to realise this and help us," he said, holding a crudely written banner reading: "We demand the USA to stop supporting Karimov's regime."
Protesters said at least three activists were arrested earlier in the day when police broke into their flats at dawn.