This just in from fergana.ru (Russian), also carried on neweurasia.net (English) — gunfire and violence in Tashkent.
There isn’t a lot of information, and as of noon Sunday I’m still tracking down any information I can find. The details as they exist suggest that several attacks took place around the city, and dead bodies have been seen (by whom, when, in uniform or plain clothes?) in the streets. Keep in mind Uzbekistan’s independence day is in a matter of hours (Tuesday).
I’ll do my best to keep you updated – and I know the other registaners will do likewise.
UPDATE:
Fergana.ru has more on the event, (here in English) but it’s clear that more details will be coming in. The perpetrators are being called bandits, which isn’t terribly specific. Most interesting is this nugget collected by Fergana.ru from patrons of a local tearoom/choyxona/chaikhana:
В чайхане «Шахрух», расположенной в паре сотен метров от места перестрелки, пожилой посетитель рассказал, что сейчас ураза, и вчера, как раз после дневного поста, народ начал собираться здесь на ифтар (разговение). А потом пришли милиционеры и велели всем сидеть в этой чайхане и не выходить на улицу. Стрельба началась в 18.40 и продолжалась минут двадцать. Всё это время из чайханы никто не выходил. Наружу вышли только часа через три, когда уже всё закончилось.
(My not-so-great translation)
In the Shah Rukh teahouse, located a couple hundred meters from the shooting, an older customer told me that now people are fasting (for Ramadan) and yesterday, just after the day’s fast people began to come together for iftar (breaking of the fast). And then policemen came and told everyone to stay in the teahouse and not go outside. The shooting began at 6:40 and went on for twenty minutes. During that entire time, no one left the teahouse. Only three hours later, after everything was over (NOTE: Iftar is after 8:00, so they also were probably waiting to break their fast) did the patrons leave.
Perhaps I missed something in the story, but it does seem that the police knew the shooting would happen. Other witnesses in the story related that the house that was shot up was being used as a temporary hideout for people that had run into the neighborhood. If that’s the case, it would explain why the policemen were able to warn the old men in the teahouse not to leave.
{ 12 comments }
You are a great lier every thing is ok Do not make a panic Only in one place was a little attack
Glad to hear you’re doing well, great lier. I don’t think Registan is the place to make a panic, but I’ll keep responding to news as it comes in. As will you, I’m sure.
One more thing – this isn’t LA we’re talking about. It’s Tashkent. While shootings and shooting deaths are [regrettably] more common in certain large megalopolises, they are something else entirely in Tashkent. I mention this for any visitors who think that jumping at a shooting in a foreign city is uncalled for. In our defense, Tashkent is more police-patrolled than any other Karimov town, and when shooting happens, one tends to assume it was planned.
Which is not to say that I have any clear ideas as to the shooters’ identities, plans, or manifestos. But… neither does anyone else contributing/commenting on this blog, I think.
The comparison to LA is dead-on. You could have also said Philly or Camden.
My own guess is that it could very well be “bandits” in the sense of drug/human smugglers. neweurasia’s on the case!
The latest Ferghana gives only one location. Let’s see what Ferghana commentators will have to say. In Centrasia.ru there are arguments whether there was shooting in one or several places.
Just an innocent question from someone who doesn’t know: how easy is it to get a gun in Uzbekistan. I know it’s not Afghanistan (or Missouri, for that matter) in terms of availability, but is it safe to assume that the only folks who have guns in Tashkent are either gov’t or Serious Bad Dudes, or are they available to any drug runner, human trafficker, etc?
I’ve heard that you can get weapons at the Alaiski Bazaar and have seen that locals in the neighborhoods do posses weapons sometimes, but still nothing like in Afghanistan or the USA.
update –
Uzbek policemen kill two armed men during special operation
Special operation of the Uzbek enforcement bodies took place near Kukcha mosque not far from the city hospital No.1 in Tashkent at 6.30pm on 29 August, reported citing a source close to the Internal Affairs Ministry.
Two armed men were found out during the raid in one of flats of two-story house building. The police offered to surrender in order to avoid bloodshed. The gangsters tried to put up a resistance. After a short skirmish both offenders were killed.
The source said these bandits are connected with a number of grave crimes committed recently in Tashkent. At the same time, the information circulating in the Internet on some incidents in other districts of the capital have not been approved.
Uzbek policemen kill two armed men during special operation
Special operation of the Uzbek enforcement bodies took place near Kukcha mosque not far from the city hospital No.1 in Tashkent at 6.30pm on 29 August, reported citing a source close to the Internal Affairs Ministry.
Two armed men were found out during the raid in one of flats of two-story house building. The police offered to surrender in order to avoid bloodshed. The gangsters tried to put up a resistance. After a short skirmish both offenders were killed.
The source said these bandits are connected with a number of grave crimes committed recently in Tashkent. At the same time, the information circulating in the Internet on some incidents in other districts of the capital have not been approved.
so it was not an attack as reported. It was special operation carried out by security forces against armed bandits.
The funny picture of officer sticked to news is irrelevant (it is unlikely that this road police officer had anything to do with this event).
As it turns, it was not an attack as reported. It was special operation carried out by security forces against armed bandits.
The funny picture of officer sticked to news is irrelevant. It is unlikely that this road police officer had anything to do with this event.
As it turns, it was not an attack as reported. Security forced carried out special operation against armed bandits.
http://news.uzreport.com/uzb.cgi?lan=e&id=66369
The picture of officer sticked to news is provocative and irrelevant. It is unlikely that this road police officer had anything to do with this event.
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