Bishkek, the capital of the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan, suddenly became the epicenter of anti-government turmoil, with the country’s White House being set on fire during angry protests ignited by Sunday’s parliamentary elections. In an attempt to subdue the mob, local police deployed tear gas and flashbang grenades.
Violent protests erupted in Bishkek and other major cities of Kyrgyzstan after preliminary results of the election were announced by authorities. Only four of the 16 participating parties exceeded the seven-percent threshold required to win seats in parliament, while three of those four have alleged ties to the incumbent president.
The opposition rally at the city’s Ala-Too Square began peacefully, but things escalated drastically when night fell. Protesters stormed and trashed the state’s White House and freed ex-president Almazbek Atambayev, who was imprisoned for corruption. Law enforcement responded with tear gas, stun grenades, and water cannon, but refrained from using lethal weapons. According to Kyrgyzstan’s Health Ministry, 648 people sustained injuries in clashes and one person died from a head injury.
Earlier today, the Central Election Commission decided to nullify the results of the parliamentary vote. Just a few hours later Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov and Dastan Jumabekov, the speaker of the parliament, resigned.
Subscribe to RT! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpwvZwUam-URkxB7g4USKpg?sub_confirmation=1
RT LIVE
Check out http://rt.com
Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/RTnews
Follow us on VK https://vk.com/rt_international
Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/RT_com
Follow us on Instagram http://instagram.com/rt
Follow us on Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/rttv
#RT (Russia Today) is a global #news network broadcasting from Moscow, London, Paris and Washington studios to over 100 countries. RT is the first news channel to break the 1 billion YouTube views benchmark.
▶️ DTube