Kyrgyz Police Arrest Suspects In Andijon Unrest

This camp on the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border was the first refuge for many of the refugees from the violence in Andijon (ITAR-TASS) July 19, 2006 -- Police in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh say they have arrested six people suspected of being involved in last year's violence in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijon.

Local security officials say the six confessed to being members of the Islamic group Akramiya, which is banned in Uzbekistan and is accused by Tashkent of helping orchestrate the unrest in Andijon.

Police say they found 400 grams of TNT during a search of one of the suspects' homes on July 18.

All six suspects are Uzbek citizens.

Witnesses claim government troops opened fire on a peaceful gathering in Andijon on May 13, 2005, killing hundreds. The Uzbek government describes the incident as an armed uprising and maintains that 187 people -- all either "terrorists," police, or soldiers -- were killed in the ensuing crackdown.

(Reuters, AP)