Posted on 05/12/2005 10:46:05 PM PDT by HAL9000
Dramatic events are unfolding in Uzbekistan, where crowds of people have gathered outside government buildings in the eastern town of Andijan.Troops are said to be filling a nearby street and stadium, and some shots have been fired injuring protesters.
Reports say three snipers firing on the crowd were pulled down from a roof by the angry crowd.
During the night, gunmen stormed the city jail releasing possibly thousands of prisoners.
The crowds are thought to be protesting against the trial of 23 Islamic businessmen on extremism charges.
"The people have risen," AP news agency quoted Valijon Atakhonjonov, the brother of one of defendants in the trial, as saying.
AP quoted a government spokesman in Andijan as saying city and regional administrative buildings are still under government control.
President Islam Karimov and other senior officials are on their way to the town.
Barometer of feeling
Overnight, a group of armed men broke open Andijan jail, freeing everyone inside - perhaps as many as 4,000 inmates, both political prisoners and ordinary criminals.
They poured out into the city, some of them carrying guns.
There was the sound of shooting and grenade explosions for a few hours but that has died down now.
The BBC's Monica Whitlock says Andijan is one of the main cities in the most politically sensitive part of this country.
It is the barometer of feeling for a long, densely populated valley called Ferghana with a long tradition of independent thought, our correspondent says.
The authoritarian government in Tashkent has always eyed the valley with suspicion, she says.
It has locked up probably thousands of local young men, accusing them of Islamic extremism.
Uzbek President Flies to Site of Uprising
By BAGILA BUKHARBAYEVA
Associated Press WriterTASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) -- Thousands of people, many of them armed, took to the streets of an eastern Uzbek city on Friday, attacking a prison and freeing the inmates to protest the detention of prominent businessmen on charges of Islamic extremism, witnesses said.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov and other leaders immediately rushed to Andijan, where witnesses reported chaos in the streets. The city 300 miles east of Tashkent near the Kyrgyz border has been the scene of growing unrest in recent weeks.
The 23 defendants are charged with anti-constitutional activity and forming a criminal and extremist organization, but rights activists say the case is part of a broad government crackdown on religious dissent.
Valijon Atakhonjonov, the brother of one of the accused, said security forces fired shots in the air as thousands of people massed in front of the local administration building.
"The people have risen," he said by telephone.
Armed demonstrators went to a prison to free inmates overnight, Atakhonjonov said, but he could not confirm reports that the crowd had attacked an army garrison as well.
A government spokesman, also reached by telephone from Tashkent, said administrative buildings remained under government control.
On Wednesday several thousand people turned out to protest the allegations against the men, who have been on trial since early February on charges of being Islamic extremists. It was one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in the ex-Soviet republic.
Radical Islam was a bugaboo for the Soviet Union long before its collapse and was partly behind Moscow's decision to invade Afghanistan in the last days of 1979. The movement continues to bedevil Central Asian leaders, especially in neighboring Uzbekistan, where deep-rooted radical groups have been accused of a series of bombings and militant incursions.
Thousands of Muslims have been jailed in Uzbekistan over the past few years in a government campaign that critics say has affected many innocent believers and only inflamed anger against Karimov's harsh rule.
Uzbekistan emerged as a key U.S. ally after the Sept. 11 attacks, and hosts hundreds of U.S. troops.
The men, arrested in June, are accused of being members of the Akramia religious group and having contacts with the outlawed radical Islamic party Hizb-ut-Tahrir. Authorities accuse Hizb-ut-Tahrir of inspiring terror attacks in Uzbekistan last year that killed more than 50. The group, which claims to eschew violence, denied responsibility.
Akramia unites followers of jailed Uzbek Islamic dissident Akram Yuldashev, who was accused of calling for the overthrow of the predominantly Muslim country's secular government _ an accusation he denies.
The group's members are considered the backbone of Andijan's small business community, giving employment to thousands of people in the impoverished and densely populated Fergana Valley.
Methinks this situation could get hot(ter) in a little while; it bears watching from the world community.
BBC - The troops are advancing toward the crowd. The situation is fluid.
Let me know if anything pops up regarding Tahir Yuldash or the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
Just a little missionary work by the religion of peace.
ALARM - Attack thwarted against the embassy of Israel with Tachkent, the killed kamikaze
TACHKENT - An attempt at attack commits suicide Friday against the embassy of Israel with Tachkent in Ouzbékistan was thwarted and the kamikaze was killed, indicated the local agency Fergana.
BBC World Service - The would-be suicide bomber who attempted to attack the Israeli Embassy in Tashkent was shot dead outside the facility.
Attempt at attack against the embassy of Israel with Tachkent
JERUSALEM - an attack commits suicide Friday against the embassy of Israel with Tachkent in Ouzbékistan was thwarted, indicated the Israeli public radio.
According to the radio, the kamikaze was killed by a watchman before exploding a load which it transported.
The spokesman of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Marc Regev only confirmed with AFP "that an incident occurred", without providing details at this stage.
Also of note is that this area is just a hop/skip/jump from the south of Kyrgyzstan, where the revolutionary fervor in that country initially sizzled. I can't help but think that this thing has legs, especially if they're going after embassies now, but we will see.
Monica Whitlock - BBC World Service: The shooting has stopped. Security forces have surrounded the crowd. The situation is a standoff as crowd awaits arrival of President Karimov. The body of the suicide bomber remains in the road. The situation is contained within a section of town.
Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys?
The present Uzbek government is loaning an airbase to the U.S.
Report: Armed crowd in eastern Uzbekistan surrounds police, talks underway
Armed crowds in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan surrounded police in two city districts on Friday and talks are underway to free them, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported, citing President Islam Karimov's office.
The report came amid a surge of unrest in the town, as well as in the capital Tashkent, where a suicide bomber was shot and killed outside the Israeli Embassy on Friday morning.
U.S. Embassy says police shot and killed suicide bomber outside Israeli Embassy in Tashkent
Police shot and killed a suicide bomber outside the Israeli Embassy in the Uzbek capital on Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent said.
Police had sealed off the street where the embassy is located but denied that anything was amiss. However, the U.S. embassy said in a warden message on its Web site that an attacker had been killed. It did not report any other casualties.
"There was an incident right outside the Israeli embassy in Tashkent and it is under investigation," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev, giving no further details. No one answered phones at the Israeli Embassy in Tashkent.
The shooting came as tensions rose in the Central Asian nation. Armed protesters freed inmates from a prison overnight and shooting was reported in the eastern city of Andijan on Friday as thousands of activists rallied to protest the trial of 23 Muslim businessmen on extremism charges.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov and other leaders were flying to the eastern city, Andijan, while the Defense Ministry held an urgent meeting on the unrest, police and government officials said on condition of anonymity.
In southern Tashkent, dozens of police stood at either end of Abdulla Kahhor Street, where the Israeli Embassy is located, on Friday morning and prevented people from approaching. The building itself was surrounded by red police tape. An ambulance was seen entering the area.
It was the second known attempted suicide attack against the Israeli Embassy in a year. In July, two Uzbek guards including the ambassador's personal bodyguard were killed in a suicide bombing at the embassy. The U.S. Embassy and Uzbek prosecutors' office were also targeted in nearly simultaneous suicide attacks then, which killed seven people in all.
Uzbek leaders blamed Islamic extremists for the bombings.
Warden Message - Urgent - Reports of Violence in Tashkent and Andijan(05/13/2005)
THE FOLLOWING IS A MESSAGE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE CONSULAR WARDEN SYSTEM OF THE AMERICAN EMBASSY IN TASHKENT.
Embassy Tashkent has confirmed that a suicide bomber was shot outside of the Israeli Embassy this morning (May 13).
The U.S. Government has received reports of gunfire and possible explosions in the city of Andijan. BBC is reporting that a group of armed men took over the prison and released prisoners. American citizens are urged to stay off the streets. The Embassy has also confirmed that at least one of the Uzbek-Kazakh border crossings north of Tashkent has been closed. Travelers should avoid traveling to Andijan at this time.
For the latest security information, Americans living or traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet website at http://travel.state.gov, where the current Public Announcement for Uzbekistan, the Central Asia Regional Public Announcement, and Worldwide Caution Public Announcement can be found. American citizens may also obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States or Canada, and 202-501-4444 from overseas. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
U.S. citizens are urged to register and update their contact information at the U.S. embassy in Tashkent. The U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan is located at 82 Chilanzarskaya St., Tashkent, Uzbekistan 700115. The telephone number is 998-71-120-5450. The fax number is 998-71-120-6335, and website is www.usembassy.uz/consular.
There are bad guys and there are really bad guys. The US is allied with government of Uzbekistan in the WoT. Islamists are attempting to overthrow the regime.
Uzbek official says man killed at Israeli carried only mock-ups of explosives
An Uzbek police official said Friday that a man killed by guards at the Israeli Embassy was carrying only mock-ups of explosives.
The man who was shot to death earlier had been described as a would-be suicide bomber, but the police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man was carrying only wooden objects that appeared to be explosives.
Darwin Award...
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