Kyrgyz authorities claim former president’s family colluded with Taliban to stir up violence

Kyrgyzstan: violence provoked by Islamic militants

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyzstan’s security agency claims relatives of the country’s toppled president have colluded with Taliban and other Islamic militant movements to provoke ethnic violence in the ex-Soviet nation.

It’s statement Thursday says former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s relatives met in Afghanistan last month with representatives of Taliban, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and other militant groups to discuss plans to trigger unrest in Kyrgyzstan. The agency alleges Bakiyev’s clan promised to pay Islamic extremists to stir up violence.

Bakiyev, who was driven from power in April amid corruption allegations, has denied from self-imposed exile in Belarus any ties to Kyrgyzstan’s violence, which has killed about 2,000 people and left 400,000 ethnic Uzbeks homeless.