UN Calls for Kyrgyzstan Humanitarian Corridor

Kyrgyzstan must set up a humanitarian corridor to help people affected by deadly fighting between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, a top UN undersecretary-general Lynn Pascoe said as he briefed the Security Council on the situation in Kyrgyzstan.

He said he also wanted to get help to Uzbekistan to make sure it could deal with the influx of refugees. "It's also a great concern of ours about the refugees - whether they can get across the border . What we are trying to do is get [Uzbekistan] enough assistance there that they can feel comfortable with additional refugees coming through," BBC News quoted him as saying.

Tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have fled their homes in Kyrgyzstan and headed for Uzbekistan.The violence began in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad on Thursday and has left at least 138 dead, though the death toll amounts.

Kyrgyzstan's interim government, which came to power after violent protests overthrew the previous administration, has been quick to blame supporters of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who now lives in exile in Belarus, still has widespread support in the south and has denied whipping up tensions.

Eyewitnesses in Osh and Jalalabad have reported seeing whole rows of houses burnt down, and bodies lying in the streets.

Earlier, UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay said there was evidence of indiscriminate killings - including of children - and of rapes. A spokesman for Mr Pillay, Rupert Colville, told the BBC that some of the killings were apparently indiscriminate.

"We're also getting reports that it's not accidental, that it's been orchestrated, targeted, planned... (we) can't prove that at this point but that seems to be the indication."

Uzbek refugees say that armoured vehicles in Osh drove through streets in Uzbek neighbourhoods, shooting at civilians and clearing the way for gangs following behind.

Pascale Meige Wagner, from the International Committee for the Red Cross, said the death toll was an underestimate."We hear about bodies not being recovered in Osh and Jalalabad," she said. "We do believe that once the situation is a bit quieter in those two towns we'll have a better idea of the dimension of this crisis."

Ethnic Uzbeks make up about 15% of Kyrgyzstan's 5.5 million people.