Muslim Riots in Uzbekistan
Charles Johnson
Fri May 13, 2005 at 9:00 am PDT • Views: 446
Violent Uprising Breaks Out in Uzbekistan. (Hat tip: LGF readers.)
ANDIJAN, Uzbekistan - Thousands of people, many of them armed, took to the streets of an eastern Uzbek city on Friday, demanding freedom for 23 prominent businessmen on trial for alleged ties to an Islamic terror group. The protest quickly turned violent, with nine people reported killed and dozens wounded in clashes with police.
Uzbek President Islam Karimov and other leaders immediately rushed to Andijan, where witnesses reported chaos in the streets and security forces firing in the air. The city 300 miles east of Tashkent near the Kyrgyz border has been the scene of growing unrest in recent weeks. …
Tensions were also running high in the capital Tashkent, where police shot and killed a man they mistakenly thought was a suicide bomber outside the Israeli Embassy. The man was carrying wooden objects that appeared to be explosives, said a police official who wished to remain unnamed. Both the Israeli and the U.S. embassies in Tashkent have been targeted by suicide bombers in the last year. The government blames Islamic extremists.
The upheaval in Andijan began early Friday when thousands of people poured into the streets, demanding the release of 23 men detained on charges of belonging to an Islamic group that advocates the overthrow of the secular goverment.
The protesters say the case is part of a broad government crackdown on religious dissent.
Frank says: