Report: deposed Kyrgyz president wants UN to send peacekeepers

Ousted Kyrgyz leader: UN should send peackeepers

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — The deposed leader of Kyrgyzstan is quoted by a news agency as saying the United Nations should deploy peacekeepers to the Central Asian nation to avoid further unrest.

Kurmanbek Bakiyev told the Russian RIA Novosti news agency Sunday that the nation’s police and the military are too weak and unable to prevent violence from spreading.

Bakiyev fled the capital, Bishkek, on Wednesday after a protest rally against corruption, rising utility bills and deteriorating human rights exploded into police gunfire and chaos that left at least 81 people dead and sparked protesters to storm government buildings.

Bakiyev said he wants an international commission to investigate the circumstances of violence in Bishkek and would be ready to face responsibility if it determines he was to blame.

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

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) — The head of Kyrgyzstan’s interim government says she is facing growing public pressure to bring the Central Asian country’s deposed president to justice.

Roza Otunbayeva’s statement on Sunday reflects the toughening of the new authorities’ stance as they grow increasingly impatient with ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s refusal to step down. Otunbayeva and others have offered Bakiyev security guarantees if he resigns voluntarily.

Bakiyev fled the capital, Bishkek, on Wednesday after a protest rally against corruption, rising utility bills and deteriorating human rights exploded into police gunfire and chaos that left at least 81 people dead and sparked protesters to storm government buildings. He is believed to be in his home Jalal-Abad region in southern Kyrgyzstan.