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Wanted: Kyrgyzstan ex-leader evades dramatic raid at his home
By Jim Heintz
Moscow: A serviceman has died and at least 35 other people have been injured as special forces in Kyrgyzstan tried to arrest the Central Asian country's former president on corruption and abuse of office charges.
Supporters of Kyrgyzstan's ex-president Almazbek Atambayev fight with special forces at his residence in the village of Koi-Tash.Credit: AP
The raid at ex-president Almazbek Atambayev's residence south of Kyrgyzstan's capital of Bishkek began on Wednesday evening and continued through the night.
It came after the first attempt to detain Atambayev also failed and a throng of his supporters reportedly barricaded themselves inside.
The Kyrgyz national security committee denied reports his supporters seized some special forces members in the initial arrest attempt.
The Health Ministry said 36 people were taken to hospitals, including a special forces member who was shot from inside the residence and died.
Supporters of Kyrgyzstan's ex-president Almazbek Atambayev hold their weapons during the raid at his home.Credit: AP
The raid raises concerns about political stability in Kyrgyzstan, which borders China and hosts a Russian military air base.
Local news reports said some people were wounded by weapons fired by special forces in the raid, including a journalist. The state security committee said only plastic bullets were fired.
Kyrgyzstan's Parliament in June rescinded the immunity that Atambayev had been accorded as a former president, opening him to potential prosecution.
Since then, supporters have kept watch outside his residence in Koi-Tash, about 20 kilometres from Bishkek, expecting an attempt to arrest him.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, with then Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev in Moscow in 2017.Credit: AP
He is accused of a range of crimes, including corruption and the expropriation of property.
Atambayev was in office from 2011 to 2017 and has said the charges were concocted by President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, who was once his protege.
AP