Kremlin says Russia won’t immediately send troops to Kyrgyzstan to quell ethnic violence

Russia won’t immediately send troops to Kyrgyzstan

MOSCOW — The Kremlin says it won’t immediately send Russian troops to Kyrgyzstan, which has asked Moscow for military assistance to help quell ethnic violence.

But Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s spokeswoman, Natalya Timakova, said Saturday that Russia would offer humanitarian assistance and help evacuate those wounded in rampages that swept Kyrgyzstan’s second-largest city of Osh.

More than 60 people have been reported killed and nearly 850 wounded in the violence.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

OSH, Kyrgyzstan (AP) — Police and soldiers are battling to stop ethnic clashes in southern Kyrgyzstan where mobs of armed men have torched Uzbek neighborhoods in the Central Asian country.

The Health Ministry said Saturday the death toll has climbed to at least 49, with more than 650 people wounded.

The rioting in Osh, the country’s second-largest city, is the worst violence since the former president was toppled in a bloody uprising in April.

Fire from heavy machine guns and automatic weapons is heard as troops try to gain control of the roads.

Police and local residents say groups of young Kyrgyz men are arriving in Osh from other parts of the country. They are armed with metal bars and some have automatic weapons.

Houses in Uzbek neighborhoods continue to burn.