Russian nationals evacuate from Kyrgyzstan

MOSCOW, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Some 100 refugees from Kyrgyzstan, who are Russian passports holders, would arrive in Moscow, Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing the source from the Emergency Ministry.

The Russian Emergency Ministry's plane would dispatch the first group of Russian nationals fleeing the troubled Central Asian republic at midnight Moscow time. It carried 97 refugees on board.

According to the news agency, no people evacuated were injured or ill.

Violent clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbek ethnic groups broke out in the town of Osh on June 11 and spread to the neighboring Jalal-abad region. The interim government introduced a state of emergency in the region. At least 187 people died and more than 1, 900 were injured in clashes.

Eighty thousand ethnic Uzbeks have fled to neighboring Uzbekistan, according to its Emergency Ministry.

Russia was sending to Uzbekistan three planes carrying 120 tons of humanitarian aid, RIA Novosti reported on Thursday. The planes are to leave for Tashkent on Friday and Saturday.

On Wednesday, the interim Kyrgyz security council chief Alik Orozov flew to Moscow to discuss ethnic violence. He was to meet with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

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