Troops battle to stop raging ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan with 49 dead, 650 wounded

Ethnic clashes rage in Kyrgyzstan, 49 dead

OSH, Kyrgyzstan — 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.