DUSHANBE, August 22, 2012, Asia-Plus – Government forces have reportedly opened fire on demonstrators who gathered Wednesday morning near the building of the GBAO regional administration in Khorog.
The Asia-Plus’s correspondent reports from Khorog that hundreds of young men who participated in the funeral of the former United Tajik Opposition (UTO) field commander Imumnazar Imumnazarov gathered near the building of the GBAO regional administration in Khorog in the morning of August 22 in connection with the murder of Imumnazar Imumnazarov.
Government forces opened fire on demonstrators after they began to throw stones at the regional administration building. According to the preliminary data, two demonstrators were wounded in the legs.
Later, residents of Khorog gathered near the Khorog mayor’s office. According to some sources, several thousands of people gathered near the Khorog mayor’s office. Demonstrators accused the authorities of killing Imumnazarov and breaking agreements on armed truce and withdrawal of troops from Khorog.
Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reports more than 3,000 people gathered in Vahdat Square outside the Khorog mayor’s office. Representatives of the government and non-governmental organizations were reportedly among the demonstrators. The body of Imumnazar Imumnazarov was also brought to the square.
The demonstrators demanded that the president, as guarantor of stability, stop violence in Khorog.
The protestors, in particular, noted that the population had believed mediators and representatives of the government and surrendered their weapons, but the murder of Imumnazar Imumnazarov had inspired doubt in them.
The demonstrators stated that if the authorities did not take measures to ensure security of the population, people would be forced to take up arms in order to save their lives and lives of their relatives. They also demanded the withdrawal of the troops from Khorog.
Members of the intermediate group say the solution to the Khorog crisis is now in hands of the president; otherwise, the situation may grow out of control.
We will recall that reports from Khorog say that former United Tajik Opposition (UTO) field commander Imumnazar Imumnazarov was killed early on August 22 in his home, and his brother and several other people were wounded. According to the reports, it was not immediately clear who was responsible for the killing.
Imumnazarov had been wanted by the authorities in connection with the death of the GBAO regional security chief Abdullo Nazarov who was killed in Badakhshan in July.
