Category Archives: Kyrgyzstan

People smugglers recruiting skippers from central Asia on Turkey to Italy route

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Boat drivers from former Soviet republics often have very little experience and no idea what they are doing is illegal, say NGOs

People smugglers are increasingly recruiting people from former Soviet republics in central Asia to pilot boats carrying migrants from Turkey to Italy, say NGOs and lawyers.

The migrants are taken by sea from Turkey to Italy, often using sailing boats, as an alternative to the longer overland route through the Balkans where border guards in Croatia and Slovenia have engaged in illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers at the EU border.

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Powerful earthquake hits China-Kyrgyzstan border

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Authorities warn of potentially widespread damage after the 7.0-magnitude quake, with tremors felt in neighbouring countries

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake has struck along the China-Kyrgyzstan border, as authorities warned of potentially widespread damage.

The China Earthquake Networks Center said the quake hit Wushu county in Aksu prefecture shortly after 2am local time, according to the state-run Xinhua press agency and about 200 rescuers were dispatched to the epicenter.

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Kyrgyz mercenary who fought for Russia in Ukraine jailed

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Court established 32-year-old man had joined forces of Moscow-led separatists in Donbas

A Kyrgyz court has handed a 10-year sentence to a man who fought for Russia in Ukraine, at a time when Moscow is trying to boost recruitment of people from ex-Soviet central Asian countries.

Dozens of nationals of these countries have been killed in Ukraine in recent months, local media say, most of them after joining the ranks of the Russian army or the private military group Wagner.

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Fighting flares on disputed Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border, killing 24 people

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‘Intense battles’ in the contested region is the latest outbreak of violence to hit the former Soviet Union

Fighting has erupted on the disputed border between Kyrgyzstan and its central Asian neighbour Tajikistan, leaving 24 people dead in the latest outbreak of violence to hit the former Soviet Union.

Both of the impoverished landlocked nations have accused each other of restarting fighting in a disputed area, despite a ceasefire deal.

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Former Soviet states eye opportunities as Russia struggles in Ukraine

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Moscow’s influence in the Caucasus and central Asia is being unravelled by its ‘special military operation’

The rout of the Russian army in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region seems likely to be a turning point in Kyiv’s battle to kick Russian troops out of the country, but it may also cause much broader fallout for Moscow in the wider region, as other former Soviet countries witness what appears to be the limits of Moscow’s capabilities.

“The power of the Russian flag has declined considerably, and the security system across the former Soviet space does seem to be broken,” said Laurence Broers, associate fellow at Chatham House.

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British tourists survive avalanche in Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan

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The group of 10 people, including nine from UK, managed to take shelter when avalanche struck

Ten people, including nine Britons, are reported to have survived after a huge avalanche swept over them in the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan.

Footage uploaded on Instagram by Harry Shimmin, one of the people on the trekking tour, showed snow starting to break down a mountain in the distance, before sweeping towards them and forcing the group to take cover as the snow went over the top of them.

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‘We want the truth’: families of ethnic Pamiris killed in Tajikistan call for justice as tensions rise

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Urgent protection for minority groups facing increased repression needed in crisis connected to escalating clashes across central Asian ex-Soviet region, say human rights groups

Parents of men killed by Tajikistan forces have called on the international community to step in and urgently protect ethnic groups being targeted by the Tajik regime.

In a rare interview, families from the Pamiri ethnic minority have demanded that soldiers who killed their sons be brought to justice and urged the UN to prevent a new phase of conflict in Tajikistan, a landlocked country in central Asia.

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Kidnapped, raped and wed against their will: Kyrgyz women’s fight against a brutal tradition

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At least 12,000 women are still abducted and forced into marriage every year in Kyrgyzstan. But pressure is growing to finally end the medieval custom

Aisuluu was returning home after spending the afternoon with her aunt in the village of At-Bashy, not far from the Torugart crossing into China. “It was 5 o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday. I had a paper bag full of samsa [a dough dumpling stuffed with lamb, parsley and onion]. My aunt always prepared them on weekends,” she said.

“A car with four men inside comes in the opposite direction to mine. And all of a sudden it … turns around and, within a few seconds, comes up beside me. One of the guys in the back gets out, yanks me and pushes me inside the car. I drop all the samsa on the pavement. I scream, I squirm, I cry, but there is nothing I can do.”

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Sex workers fighting for human rights among world’s most ‘at risk activists’

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Exclusive: Front Line Defenders report says rights defenders working in sex industry face ‘targeted attacks’ around the world

Sex worker activists are among the most at risk defenders of human rights in the world, facing multiple threats and violent attacks, an extensive investigation has found.

The research, published today by human rights organisation Front Line Defenders, found that their visibility as sex workers who are advocates for their communities’ rights makes them more vulnerable to the violations routinely suffered by sex workers. In addition, they face unique, targeted abuse for their human rights work.

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‘I’m scared of being killed’: sex worker activists speak out

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Rights defenders describe threats and abuse while working to protect their communities

A report has found that sex worker activists are among the most at risk human rights defenders in the world. Published on Thursday by Front Line Defenders following a four-year investigation, it found activists face multiple threats and violent attacks. Their visibility within their communities makes them more vulnerable to abuse, the report said.

Here, sex worker activists from Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and El Salvador share their experiences.

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Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan ceasefire holding after day of intense fighting

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Heaviest clashes in years between the two countries over disputed border leave 40 dead and 175 injured

A ceasefire on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan appeared to be holding on Friday after a day of intense fighting between the two former Soviet Central Asian neighbours that has killed about 40 people and wounded about 175.

More than 7,000 Kyrgyz people have been evacuated from the area engulfed by the fighting as troops from the two countries exchanged gunfire around a water supply facility near the village of Kok-Tash, in western Kyrgyzstan on the border with Tajikistan.

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‘Nobody wants this job now’: the gentle leaders of China’s Uighur exiles – in pictures

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Fleeing to Kyrgyzstan in the 1960s, communities established mosques and villages but the local leaders, or dzhigit-beshchis, are a dying breed

Dzhigit-beshchi is the name Uighur people in Kyrgyzstan give to the leader they elect for their mahallah – or community. Usually it’s a respected person, mostly an elderly man.

Pushed out of China during the repressions of the 1960s, tens of thousands of Uighurs went to the former Soviet Union when these ageing leaders were just young men. Sticking closely to relatives and acquaintances who had come to Soviet cities and villages in previous waves, they built mosques and mahallahs, each with its own dzhigit-beshchi.

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‘Not enough work, not enough money’: can this Kyrgyz village survive without tourists? A picture essay

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Life was hard in this remote area of central Asia, until tourism offered new hope. Then Covid-19 struck and the visitors stopped coming

  • Photographs by Danil Usmanov

It has been over a decade since Umar Tashbekov saw his opportunity. His village, Sary-Mogol in Kyrgyzstan, at an altitude of 3,600 metres, is close to Lenin’s Peak, a popular mountain destination for tourists. If they were already hiking there, why not attract them to visit his village too?

Sary-Mogol is a three-hour drive from the nearest city of Osh, in the country’s south-east. Life here is not easy – short summers and unfavourable growing conditions make it hard to grow much more than potatoes and barley. The main source of work is the large livestock market in town. Others find employment as teachers or in the nearby coal mine. Out of its 5,200-strong population, about 500 people have left for Russia where companies welcome factory workers.

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Kyrgyzstan’s president steps down amid political unrest

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Sooronbai Jeenbekov announces resignation as turmoil in wake of disputed election continues


Kyrgyzstan’s president, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, has announced his resignation in an attempt to end the turmoil engulfing the central Asian nation after a disputed parliamentary election.

Jeenbekov, who had faced calls to step down from protesters and political opponents, said in a statement released by his office that holding on to power wasn’t “worth the integrity of our country and harmony in society”.

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Protesters storm Kyrgyzstan’s parliament building in Bishkek – video

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Protesters occupied the presidential palace and parliament building in Kyrgyzstan’s capital early on Tuesday, angry over the results of weekend parliamentary elections. Demonstrators clashed with police in Bishkek following vote-rigging allegations. Riot police used teargas, water cannons and stun grenades to disperse the crowds

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Kyrgyzstan protesters storm parliamentary building over election result

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At least 120 injured in clashes between demonstrators and police in Bishkek over claims parliamentary poll was rigged

People protesting against the results of a parliamentary election in Kyrgyzstan have broken into a parliamentary complex and security headquarters in the capital, with papers seen scattered across the pavement outside and reports parts of the building were on fire.

The break-in took place on Tuesday after opposition supporters took to the streets and called for the pro-Russian president, Sooronbay Jeenbekov, to resign after at least 10 political parties called for a re-run of Sunday’s election amid widespread claims of vote-buying.

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Covid-19 intensifies elder abuse globally as hospitals prioritise young

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Older patients turned away or left untreated, while domestic abuse is also rising, leading charity reports

When Souzi Bondeko’s grandfather started showing symptoms of Covid-19 and was struggling to breathe, she took him to a hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, where he was put on a ventilator.

She dashed home to get some food and returned to be told by a member of staff that he had been taken off the machine as it it was needed elsewhere.

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‘We are power’: the world marks International Women’s Day – video report

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People around the world marked International Women's Day on Sunday with rallies, marches and protests. In London, topless protesters formed a human chain on Waterloo bridge to highlight the vulnerability of women in the face of the climate crisis. In Kyrgyzstan, dozens of protesters were arrested after masked men attacked them at a rally for gender equality. On the Greek-Turkish border, asylum seekers marched to demand entry into the EU

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Women’s rights activists detained in Kyrgyzstan after hooligans attack IWD rally – video

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Police detained dozens of protesters on Sunday shortly after journalists witnessed them being attacked. The activists gathered in one of the squares of the capital, Bishkek, when masked men, some of whom wore traditional Kyrgyz white felt hats, attacked the protesters, grabbing and tearing apart their banners. The attackers left as soon as police arrived on the scene. Officers detained about 50 activists, mostly women.

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Trump administration unveils expanded travel ban

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  • Nationals of Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Nigeria affected
  • Separate move will stop ‘diversity visas’ for Sudan and Tanzania

The Trump administration is expanding the reach of its controversial travel ban to six additional countries.

The United States will stop issuing visas that offer a path to residency to nationals from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan, Myanmar and Tanzania, said Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, in a conference call on Friday.

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