International Rescue Committee UK

International Rescue Committee to donate emergency supplies for displaced in Kyrgyzstan

14 June 2010

The International Rescue Committee is providing funds for food and emergency supplies to a partner on the ground to meet the urgent needs of thousands of people displaced by ethnic fighting in southern Kyrgyzstan.

The IRC's Emergency Response Team is closely monitoring the situation and looking at deploying emergency specialists to the region. In the meantime, the IRC is giving an initial $30,000 (£20,000) for food and emergency materials to aid the thousands of minority Uzbeks driven from their homes by the violence.

Reports from Kyrgyzstan indicate that raids against ethnic Uzbek enclaves are continuing following three days of violence that have left many villages in ruins. Tens of thousands of refugees have poured into Uzbekistan while as many as 100,000 others are massed at the border. The number of wounded is growing and those uprooted are said to be in dire need of medical care, food, water and other emergency supplies.