U.S. providing aid through air base in Kyrgyzstan
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The U.S. military on Monday said it's providing aid to violence-affected southern Kyrgyzstan through its Manas air base outside of Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.
According to the Pentagon, the transit center, together with U. S. State Department, this weekend bought 14 tons of flour, oil, pasta, tea, yeast, and other basics to deliver to the city of Osh, following days of violent ethnic clashes there, which caused thousands to flee the area.
According to a release by military officials at Manas, they are working with Kyrgyz Ministry of the Protection of Youth and the U. S. State Department to deliver the aid, which also includes limited medical supplies.
Osh, the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, is about 300 kilometers south of the capital city of Bishkek, which hosts the Manas transit center. The base serves as a troop transit and refueling point for the U.S. military.
Pentagon spokesman Dave Lapan said operations on the base are not affected by the fighting, and the base has not needed additional security.
As many as 124 people were killed and over 1,685 injured in the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz health ministry said on Monday.
The current clashes followed violence in May when supporters of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev clashed with supporters of the interim government in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad.
An estimated 80,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Kyrgyzstan due to ethnic clashes which started last week, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday.
