Troops open fire as rebels lead protest

Troops opened fire on a square in the eastern Uzbekistan town of Andizhan yesterday when thousands protested in support of rebels occupying a government building and holding police hostages.

Protesters panicked and fled after the shooting, which started after the arrival of a truck full of soldiers and an armoured personnel carrier.

It was unclear if troops had deliberately fired on the crowd, which was sympathetic to the rebels and had massed in the main square.

Some demonstrators had demanded that long-serving President Islam Karimov step down.

It was unclear how many were killed and injured in the shooting.

The authorities, in a statement on state television, said the rebels had refused to compromise. "Militants are sheltering behind women, children and hostages. They will not compromise with the authorities."

Earlier, nine died in clashes when rebels heading the protest seized the building after breaking comrades out of jail in the city in Uzbekistan's Ferghana Valley, home to millions of impoverished Muslims. Bodies lay in the street and buildings were ablaze in the town, on the border with southern Kyrgyzstan, scene of violent protests and a coup two months ago.

It was the worst unrest in the authoritarian ex-Soviet Central Asian state since bombings in the capital last year. Four bodies, one of a soldier, lay in pools of blood in the street. A cinema and theatre were also ablaze.

Russia's Interfax news agency said Karimov had rushed to the town to negotiate with the protesters.

The Uzbek Foreign Ministry, denied government buildings had been seized, saying nine had been killed and 34 wounded during an attack on a police station and military unit.

In the capital, Tashkent, guards outside the Israeli embassy shot dead a suspected suicide bomber, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.

Washington has a military air base in Uzbekistan and has hailed Karimov as an ally in its war on terror. But Uzbek authorities have faced heavy criticism from human rights groups for the mass jailing of Muslims who do not agree with state-sponsored Islam.