UN demand over Uzbek killings

The brutal shootings have been condemned by the UN

The United Nations has issued a scathing report on the killings in the Uzbek town of Andijan in May.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the violence could even have amounted to a "mass killing".

The UN also reiterated a call for an independent inquiry into the incident - a request that the Uzbek authorities have so far refused.

There are still disputed versions of exactly what happened on 13 May, when troops fired on a crowd of people.

The government says the violence was the result of an attempt by Islamic militants to seize power, and puts the number of dead at 173.

But leading human rights groups say many hundreds of civilians were killed, with Human Rights Watch describing the incident as a "massacre".

Human rights violations

The UN report was based on interviews conducted with asylum-seekers who fled Andijan after the killings, and crossed the border into Kyrgyzstan.

"Events in Andijan between 12 and 14 May 2005, resulted in the deaths of between 176 and possibly several hundred more men, women, and children," the report concluded.

The UN interviewed refugees now on the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border

"Grave human rights violations, mostly of the right to life, were committed by Uzbek military and security forces."

Troops did not try to use non-violent methods before resorting to arms, and they failed to give a clear warning before they began firing, the report concluded.

The UN recommended that the Uzbek government gave adequate compensation to victims' families.

It also said there was "urgent need" for neighbouring countries to halt deportations of Uzbeks seeking asylum as a result of the incident, saying they "would face the risk of torture" if they were sent back to Uzbekistan.

The report particularly mentions the refugees who crossed the border into Kyrgyzstan, and cites concern over four asylum-seekers who have already been sent back over the border into Uzbekistan.

The UN also called for an independent investigation into the killings, to clarify the number of dead as well as the sequence of events.

There are still many unanswered questions, especially relating to the seizure of a regional administrative building and the storming of a prison.

Investigators "should be... guaranteed freedom of movement, free access to all relevant places and to all relevant documents," the report said.