Kyrgyz special forces stand in guard at former president of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev’s residence in the village of Koi-Tash. (Source: AP)A botched attempt to arrest Kyrgyzstan’s former president left one policeman dead and more than 50 injured. It has also led to Kyrgyzstan’s ex-president Almazbek Atambayev calling for his supporters to push for the removal of the current government. An AFP report on Thursday that a fresh raid was launched to arrest Atambayev.
What happened?
On Wednesday, the nation’s State National Security Service said its special forces were undertaking a “special operation” to detain the former president from his compound in the village of Koi-Tash, reported AFP. The decision was taken after Atambayev ignored summons for questioning in connection with criminal charges against him, including corruption.
However, the attempts to arrest Atambayev at his residence outside the capital failed after his supporters rushed to his defence and clashed with police. The AFP report said that the former president’s supporters took on the police personnel with guns and threw stones at the police.
Photos from the site showed injured policemen even as gun-toting supporters of the former president stood over them. Atambayev has said that he also fired several shots when police came to arrest him Wednesday, adding that he “tried not to hit people.”
Supporters of Kyrgyzstan’s ex-president Almazbek Atambayev capture a special forces member at Atambayev’s residence. (Source: AP)A police officer later died of injuries at a hospital and more than 50 people were injured, according to official statements.
Atambayev’s supporters took six policemen as hostages but released them Thursday.
Officials said that police fired only rubber bullets, and the chief of the nation’s security agency voiced regret that he didn’t order his men to fire to kill.
What is the former president accused of?
Atambayev faces a slew of charges, including corruption and the expropriation of property. The former president has dismissed them as “absurd.”
Atambayev, who was in office from 2011 to 2017, accused his successor and one-time protege Sooronbai Jeenbekov of fabricating false criminal charges against him to stifle criticism.
Supporters of Kyrgyzstan’s ex-president Atambayev hold their weapons during fight with special forces members. (Source: AP)What has happened since the botched raid?
Atambayev urged his supporters to rally in the capital, Bishkek, to demand Jeenbekov’s resignation.
Shopping malls and other businesses began shutting down Thursday ahead of the planned rallies, reflecting fears of widespread looting that accompanied earlier violence.
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.
Supporters of Kyrgyz former President Almazbek Atambayev react after repelling the offensive operation. (Source: Reuters)Kyrgyzstan’s close ally, Russia, has called for restraint. Russia’s foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin warned that the tensions have reached a “dangerous scale” and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova urged the conflicting parties to show “responsibility and common sense.”
Atambayev travelled to Russia last month and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an apparent attempt to rally support, but the Russian leader later reaffirmed that Moscow was committed to working with Jeenbekov.
with inputs from Reuters
