Nuncio calls Kyrgyzstan situation absolute humanitarian catastrophe

(June 16,2010) The Vatican ambassador to Kyrgyzstan described the situation in the country as chaotic, as ethnic violence increased the number of refugees and displaced people.
Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia, Apostolic Nuncio to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, told Vatican Radio on Tuesday, that in Osh, there is a situation of absolute humanitarian catastrophe. He said there are no lights, gas, and water and no food in the markets. He reported dozens of deaths in Osh and said that as of June 13, 47 were dead in the border city of Jalal-Abad. Government officials put the death toll at more than 175 as of June 15, but local officials said it probably was higher. Some media reports spoke of mass graves in Osh and Jalal-Abad.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees was to begin an airlift to Uzbekistan on Wednesday, to help take relief to tens of thousands of Uzbek refugees who had crossed the border from Kyrgyzstan. Archbishop Maury told Vatican Radio that the Russians arrived with humanitarian aid for the people June 14, but many are afraid to go into the streets because they are afraid of being attacked by groups of bandits. He said old ethnic rivalries between the Uzbeks and Kyrgyzs are the root of the conflict. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, former Soviet republics, gained independence in 1991.