meerkat1
15.05.05, 21:52
Local residents have seized control of Karasu, a border town in eastern
Uzbekistan, driving out representatives of the central government.
Angry crowds set government buildings alight and attacked the mayor.
The uprising follows the bloody suppression of a demonstration in the nearby
city of Andijan on Friday.
The BBC's Ian MacWilliam says this is exactly the kind of local rebellion the
Uzbek government hoped to prevent by a show of force in Andijan.
Hundreds of people are feared to have been killed in that city when troops
fired on protesting crowds.
UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the BBC there had been "a clear abuse of
human rights" in Uzbekistan.
Mr Straw said the situation was "serious" and called for more transparency
from the Uzbek government.