What is happening in Kyrgyzstan?

The Kyrgyz Security Council held a session in the wake of a situation involving former President Almazbek Atambayev. The session was chaired by incumbent Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov.

The issue of 'ensuring security and order in relation to the situation which emerged on August 7, 2019' was on the agenda of the session, the press service of the presidential administration said.

President Sooronbay Jeenbekov said at the session that Former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev flagrantly violated the national constitution and laws when he offered tough armed resistance to special-purpose police units that stormed his residence in a bid to detain him.

"Almazbek Atambayev flagrantly violated the constitution and the laws of the Kyrgyz Republic, offering tough armed resistance to conducting investigation permitted by the law," Sputnik cited Jeenbekov as saying.

The Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security (YKMK) warned against staging provocations in the country in the wake of the situation involving former President Almazbek Atambayev.

"Provocative messages calling on citizens to engage in illegal [protest] actions are currently being spread in social media and online. The YKMK is actively working on preventing and suppressing such ... provocative actions by certain forces interested in destabilizing the situation," the YKMK said in a statement.

Atambayev admitted that he was shooting on Wednesday when special-purpose police units stormed his residence in a bid to detain him.

"My supporters did not even have a slingshot, lies are being spread on TV. I was shooting when the guys went to the third floor, but I was trying not to hit them," the ex-president said.

He also pledged that all the security officers who were taken as hostages would be released, stressing that most of them were already set free.

Atambayev said he will come to the Media Forum building in Bishkek together with his supporters at 16:00 local time (13:00 Moscow time).

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that the events that are happening in Kyrgyzstan are the country's internal affairs.

"The President of Kazakhstan keeps a close eye on the situation in Kyrgyzstan," spokesman of the President Berik Uali said, noting that Tokayev hopes for a speedy normalization of the situation based on the current legislation.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview with Ekho Moskv radio station that Russia considers that the events related to an operation to detain former Kyrgyz President are the Central Asian republic’s domestic affair.

"We view this event as the country’s domestic affair and also the embassy has released recommendation for Russians to avoid the scene of the operation, if it continues. I think we will give a deeper assessment to these events some time later," TASS cited the diplomat as saying.

Spokesman for the Russian embassy in Kyrgyzstan Viktor Kharchenko said that preparations for the meeting of the EEU Intergovernmental Council to be held in the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon-Ata on August 9 are underway as normal. "Assigned groups are working as planned," he added.

The number of those who sustained injuries in clashes between supporters of Kyrgyz ex-President Almazbek Atambayev and special forces and law enforcement officers has risen to fifty-two, the Kyrgyz Health Ministry said.

"The number of those who sought medical help is 52, 20 of them were hospitalized. Eleven more people are being treated in special forces’ medical facilities," a ministry representative said.

On Wednesday, the special forces of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security attempted to detain Atambayev in his residence in Koi-Tash village but failed. The supporters of the former president were guarding the residence and managed to repel the attack, disarming the special forces officers and capturing six of them. Clashes between the additional police forces that were deployed to the site and Atambayev’s supporters ensued in Koi-Tash.