Gunfire at deposed president's rally in Kyrgyzstan

[April 20, 2010]  OSH, Kyrgyzstan (AP) -- Gunfire broke out at a rally where the deposed president of Kyrgyzstan was speaking to supporters Thursday. Kurmanbek Bakiyev was hustled into a car and driven from the scene, and there were no apparent injuries in the crowd.

Bakiyev, accompanied by two of his brothers, returned to his home compound in the village of Teyit about two hours later. He made no comment.

The gunfire occurred seconds after Bakiyev began speaking to the crowd of about 5,000 in Osh, the largest city in the southern region that is Bakiyev's support base.

Although there were no reports of injuries, the gunfire underlined the tensions that persist in the second week of the crisis in the ex-Soviet Central Asian country where both the United States and Russia have military bases.

Witnesses said the shots were fired into the air by Bakiyev's bodyguards, possibly because of concern about a group of Bakiyev opponents who were approaching from a separate rally about 300 meters (yards) away.

Since fleeing the capital of Bishkek last week, Bakiyev has made a series of public appearances, clearly testing how much support he has to try to resist the interim authorities who have taken control in the capital.

Bakiyev was driven from there on April 7 after a protest boiled over into gunfire; protesters then stormed government buildings. At least 83 people died in the violence.

By having to flee Thursday's rally in what has been the heartland of his backers, Bakiyev appears to have suffered a significant setback in his drive to claim that he is still the country's legitimate president.

"I think the end of this situation has taken place. He is locked behind the doors of his home," said Roza Otunbayeva, leader of the opposition figures who claimed power after Bakiyev left Bishkek.

"He killed all those young people. All the people are against him. How can he even turn up here?" said Alikh Mansurov, an unemployed Osh resident.

It remains unclear how much support Bakiyev has among the country's military and police. In order to reach the Osh rally from his hometown, Bakiyev and his convoy had to pass through at least four checkpoints, one of which was heavily armed with three armored personnel carriers and about 20 machine guns.

No arrest warrant has been issued for Bakiyev, but one is in effect for his brother Zhanybek, former head of the state guard service, who was among those in the convoy.

Bakiyev has said he would be willing to resign if security guarantees were given to him and close relatives. The interim authorities have offered him such guarantees but have refused them for family members.

They also say Bakiyev would have to leave the country or face prosecution; his opponents blame him both for last week's violence and for alleged widespread corruption.

Bakiyev has shown no signs of willingness to leave Kyrgyzstan, and no country has stepped forward publicly with offers of shelter.

The U.S. military base near the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, is a key piece in the NATO campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan, providing both refueling flights and a transit point for troops going into or out of Afghanistan.

Bakiyev spoke late Wednesday by telephone with Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister's office said Thursday, noting that the call was made on Bakiyev's initiative. No details were given, but Bakiyev was unlikely to have won Putin's support.

Earlier in the day Putin had met with a member of the provisional Kyrgyz government who had come to Moscow to seek financial assistance. Russia responded with promises of $50 million in aid and loans and 25,000 tons of fuel to help with the spring planting.

[Associated Press; By PETER LEONARD]

Associated Press writer Sasha Merkushev in Teyit contributed to this report.

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