www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/05/14/world/main695223.shtml
The Uzbek leader blamed Islamic extremists for the revolt and said his tr oops were forced to shoot demonstrators Friday as they tried to break th rough police lines. Karimov said 10 government troops and "many more" militants died and at l east 100 people were wounded in Friday's fighting in the eastern city of Andijan, which lies in the fertile but impoverished Fergana Valley, jus t a few miles from the Kyrgyz border. Soldiers loyal to Karimov fired on thousands of demonstrators Friday to p ut down an uprising that began when armed men freed 2,000 inmates from p rison, including suspects on trial for alleged Islamic extremism. About 6,000 Uzbek residents headed Saturday to the border with Kyrgyzstan . Kyrgyz border guards were awaiting a government decision on whether to allow them in, said Gulmira Borubayeva, spokeswoman for Kyrgyzstan's bo rder guard service. Saturday's clashes erupted in the village of Korasuv, about 30 miles east of Andijan. Korasuv is directly on the Kyrgyz border, which is divided by a small river. Uzbek police and tax offices were set on fire, and police cars were vanda lized, a Kyrgyz official said on condition of anonymity.
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