Uzbek Refugees Flee Kyrgyzstan Violence

Thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have massed at the Uzbekistan border in an attempt to escape violence in Kyrgyzstan which has left at least 138 dead. Reports suggest that Uzbekistan is considering closing its borders as the build-up continues, despite requests by the UN to keep it open.

The United States has called for a "co-ordinated international response" to the violence. At least 1,761 people have been injured in four days of clashes. The unrest - which broke out overnight Thursday between Kyrgyz and minority Uzbeks in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad - is the worst ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan in 20 years.

The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) earlier said that an estimated 80,000 Uzbeks have crossed into Uzbekistan from Kyrgyzstan, while about 15,000 are waiting on the border.

Camps have been set up in Uzbekistan to cope with the influx of refugees. Most were women, children and the elderly, many of whom reportedly had gunshot wounds. The UN refugee agency says it is providing aid to about 75,000 people.

Earlier on Monday, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a regional grouping of former Soviet states, reached an outline agreement on measures to take as a response to the crisis. No details have been released of the plans, but a Russian official has told the BBC that Moscow would not rule out sending peacekeeping troops.

The south of Kyrgyzstan, an ex-Soviet Central Asian state of 5.5 million people, is home to an ethnic Uzbek minority of almost one million. It is unclear what has sparked the violence, which comes two months after ex-President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in a violent uprising.

Kyrgyzstan has appealed to Russia for military support, and the UN Security Council is also being briefed on the situation, according to officials.

British authorities have meanwhile arrested Mr Bakiyev's son, who is wanted by the Kyrgyz interim government for alleged corruption.