Former Kyrgyz leader Atambayev arrested after violent clashesAugust 8, 2019 - 18:14 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Police in Kyrgyzstan detained the Central Asian nation's ex-president Thursday, August 8 following violent clashes with his supporters, a day after a previous attempt to arrest him left one policeman dead and nearly 80 people injured, The Associated Press reports. The violence has raised the threat of a new round of turmoil in the ex-Soviet nation, which borders China and hosts a Russian military air base. Kyrgyzstan's first two presidents after independence were both driven from office by riots. Almazbek Atambayev, who was in office from 2011 to 2017, accused his successor and one-time protégé Sooronbai Jeenbekov of fabricating false criminal charges against him to stifle criticism. He urged his supporters to rally Thursday in the capital, Bishkek, to demand Jeenbekov's resignation. The first attempt by police to arrest Atambayev at his residence outside the capital failed late Wednesday after his supporters rushed to his defense and clashed with police. A police officer later died of injuries at a hospital and 79 people were injured, according to official statements. Atambayev's supporters took six policemen as hostages, but released them Thursday. Shopping malls and other businesses shut down Thursday ahead of the planned rallies, reflecting fears of widespread looting that accompanied earlier violence. But instead of rallying in the capital, Atambayev's supporters changed course and headed back to his countryside residence to fend off a new attempt to arrest him. However, thousands of police armed with water cannons and stun grenades eventually overwhelmed their resistance. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |