Kyrgyzstan crisis: No clear leadership after days of unrest

Kyrgyzstan slid deeper into a political crisis, with several people barred from leaving the country while Russia described the current situation, with the country lacking clear leadership, as “chaotic”. Border guards were given a list of people barred from leaving the country, ostensibly to ensure security amid unrest that has toppled the government. Russia’s Tass news agency described the people in that list as “high-ranking” officials. The closures on Thursday came as Russia, which has an airbase in Kyrgyzstan, said Moscow had obligations under an existing security treaty to prevent the situation from totally breaking down. Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s FSB security service, spoke to Kyrgyzstan’s new acting security chief on Wednesday. “The situation looks like a mess and chaos,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing. The former Soviet republic, landlocked and bordered by Kazakhstan, China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, has seen thousands protest against the results of the October 4 parliamentary election. The results of that election, which handed victory to establishment parties, have now been annulled, something the opposition had been calling for. But the demonstrations peaked when, soon after the vote, opposition protesters seized government buildings and freed jailed ex-President Almazbek Atambayev. The rallies have forced the Kyrgyz cabinet to resign, leaving the country with no clear leadership. Three opposition groups have each proposed candidates for an interim prime minister who would need to oversee a repeat vote in the coming months, local media said. In addition to Sadyr Zhaparov, an opposition politician who was released from jail and appointed acting prime minister, businessman Tilek Toktogaziyev has also made his ambitions clear. Omurbek Babanov, a former prime minister, has also emerged as a contender. Meanwhile, the outgoing parliament has itself split into two groups that were meeting separately outside the headquarters ransacked by protesters. The group that met overnight in a hotel only included 40 MPs, whereas important decisions such as naming a cabinet require a 61-vote majority. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">