Foreign and Military Affairs

Chinese nationals flee Kyrgyzstan 'war zone'

By Cui Jia and Qin Jize (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-16 09:04

Chinese nationals flee Kyrgyzstan 'war zone'

URUMQI - After six hours of anxious waiting and a few dozen cigarettes, 47-year-old Liu Yun felt a wave of relief as his 23-year-old daughter walked through the terminal at Urumqi International Airport and into his arms on Tuesday.

Liu's daughter was among the first group of 111 Chinese citizens evacuated from the southern city of Osh in Kyrgyzstan, where ethnic violence has led to at least 171 people being killed in the past several days.

"I am so glad I am out of the war zone," said Liu's daughter, who did not want to be identified.

"Like everybody in Osh, I was so scared as the situation is out of control," she said, adding she plans to continue her studies in Kyrgyzstan when the trouble dies down.

Wang Baoqiang, 36, who has run a building materials business in Osh for the last three years, was also on the flight.

"I was trapped in my house for days and was running out of food," he said. "Many shops or businesses run by Chinese were torched by rioters. But financial losses are no longer important, we just wanted to come home alive."

China dispatched two Boeing 737-700 aircraft owned by China Southern Airlines (each with passenger capacity of about 120) to Osh on Monday night from Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which borders Kyrgyzstan.

The first flight arrived in Urumqi at 4:25 am after a three-hour delay. The second, which had 84 Chinese nationals on board, landed an hour later.

Liu's daughter said armored vehicles escorted the Chinese citizens to the airport.

"Our flight was delayed because some couldn't make it to the airport on time due to roadblocks set up by rioters and continuous street violence," she said.

Two other Boeing 757 aircraft were sent to Osh on Tuesday to evacuate more Chinese citizens. The first one returned to Urumqi with 186 people on board at 11 pm on Tuesday. The second one is scheduled to arrive early Wednesday morning.

Xinjiang has two land ports that border Kyrgyzstan -Turgart port and Irkeshtam port, which is about 260 km from Osh.

Despite the turmoil in Kyrgyzstan, the Xinjiang regional government has ordered both ports to remain open so Chinese citizens can return at any time, Zou Meidiao, director of Turgart Port Managing Committee, told China Daily on Tuesday.

There have been no reports of Chinese casualties in Kyrgyzstan.

Meanwhile, about 50 Chinese nationals arrived in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, on Tuesday afternoon on board a chartered plane dispatched by the Chinese embassy. The situation in the city remains calm and stable, and flights to other international cities are normal.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Tuesday that China is closely monitoring the situation in Kyrgyzstan.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a regional security group that includes former Soviet republics, held a meeting to discuss the Kyrgyz situation on Monday.

The CSTO said it will consider every measure to normalize the situation in Kyrgyzstan, including using the entire range of the CSTO forces if necessary.

"We understand the CSTO's efforts in maintaining peace and stability in Central Asia," said Qin.

The first batch of China's 5-million-yuan ($730,000) humanitarian aid, which includes medicine, medical equipment, food, blankets and tents, arrived at Osh airport on Tuesday afternoon.

Kyrgyz interim leader Roza Otunbayeva has promised her government will hold a national referendum on a new constitution on June 27 as scheduled despite the latest violence.

Speaking to reporters in the capital on Tuesday, Otunbayeva also said that the CSTO does not plan to send peacekeeping forces to southern Kyrgyzstan.

Otunbayeva's remarks followed UN special envoy Miroslav Jenca's call for the Kyrgyz interim government to hold the referendum and October parliamentary elections as scheduled.

The violence in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad broke out last Thursday and escalated at the weekend.

Governments across Asia are evacuating hundreds of their nationals from Kyrgyzstan. India, Pakistan and South Korea all organized flights to rescue citizens living and working in the troubled south of the country.

Xinhua, Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.