Uzbekistan Says Refugees Return Home Voluntarily

Special forces on the streets of Andijon after the crackdown, which officially left 187 people dead (epa) TASHKENT, July 18, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports that at least some 12 refugees who fled the violence in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijon after a government crackdown in May 2005 have returned home from the United States.

An Uzbek Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the refugees, who had found asylum through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, made the decision themselves.

A RFE/RL correspondent, who had contacted one of the refugees, said Uzbek's national security service had given them guarantees that they would be safe at home.