Almost all people who fled to Uzbekistan during ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan have returned to their homeland, a spokesman for the Uzbek foreign ministry said. According to various international organizations, some 400,000 people are believed to be internally displaced as a result of deadly ethnic clashes in mid-June, while about 110,000 crossed the border with Uzbekistan. "Now those affected by tragic events in southern Kyrgyzstan have returned to their motherland and they need maximum support," the source said.
The report was confirmed by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, who visited the Andijan province on the border with Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday. The Uzbek Foreign Ministry is set to hand the remaining part of international humanitarian aid worth some $2.5 million, to Kyrgyztan, the spokesman said. Clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, who account for about 15% of Kyrgyzstan's population, broke out in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh on June 11, lasting several days and spreading to nearby Jalalabad. Unofficial death toll stands at some 2,000 people.
