Kyrgyzstan's ousted leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev said today he was still president and he asked world leaders not to recognise the interim rulers who took over after an April 7th uprising.
"I will do everything to restore constitutional order to Kyrgyzstan," Mr Bakiyev said in the Belarussian capital Minsk, where he has sought refuge after the revolt against his five-year rule.
The statement will likely aggravate the mix of lawlessness and resistance facing Kyrgyzstan's interim government as it tries to restore order in the Central Asian state, host to a US airbase supplying operations in Afghanistan.
The new rulers said last week Mr Bakiyev had resigned and produced a hand-written letter it said the president had sent from Kazakhstan, where he initially found safe haven.
"I don't recognise my resignation...only death can stop me," Mr Bakiyev said, reading from a statement.
"I call on international leaders not to recognise the authority of this illegitimate gang." Russia said yesterday the country faced anarchy, and the Kremlin ordered the defence ministry to protect ethnic
Russians who have been targeted alongside Meskhetian Turks by looters demanding land in the post-uprising turbulence.
Five people died on Monday in ethnic violence. At least 85 were killed in the uprising.
Loyalists to Mr Bakiyev have seized control of a regional government building in his southern stronghold of Jalalabad, defying the new government in Bishkek and demanding the ousted president's return.
The interim leaders accuse Mr Bakiyev of corruption and nepotism and say he must answer for the deaths in the uprising, when police and troops repeatedly open fire on protesters, some armed.
"I am not evading responsibility for the catastrophe and I am ready to answer to the law," Mr Bakiyev said, without elaborating.
Reuters