Special report: Unrest in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz interim government on Tuesday issued an ultimatum for President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to surrender hours after it abolished his presidential immunity, said a senior official of the interim government on Tuesday.

The government will take action to arrest him if he does not surrender by the end of Tuesday, said Azimbek Beknazarov, vice prime minister of the interim government.

An aide of Bakiyev said the ousted president had been aware of the threat and planned to hold a press conference at 4 p.m. local time (1000 GMT) Tuesday afternoon.

"We (have) already known about the this ultimatum. The president will comment on it himself," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted the aide as saying.

Earlier reports said over 1,000 Bakiyev's supporters were gathering in the country's southern city of Jalalabad to show their backing for the president.

Bakiyev called on the crowd to keep calm and refrain from any actions to seize the state government. Meanwhile, he reiterated his willingness to negotiate with the interim authorities but specified nothing about his conditions for the talks.

On Monday, Bakiyev warned that any attempt to seize or kill him would result in more bloodshed, in response to the threats that the interim government would take action against him.

Kyrgyzstan's interim government has threatened to use force against Bakiyev, raising tensions in the country whose economy is already battered.