Kyrgyzstan receives Kazakhstan aid, death toll rises to 79

Bishkek - The Kazakhstan Prime Minister will provide humanitarian aid to those affected by the political upheaval in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan. The news came as the death toll officially rose to 79.

On Saturday, Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Masimov announced that his country will send humanitarian aid to the people of Kyrgyzstan after political chaos and turmoil engulfed the nation for the past few days, according to Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty. The Prime Minister, as most international leaders, said that he hopes for the situation to be resolved quickly and peacefully. At the present time, the deputy speaker of the Kazakhstan senate, Zhanybek Karibzhanov, is in Kyrgyzstan representing Kazakhstan as chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Focus News reports that the Kyrgyzstan health ministry press secretary, Elena Bayalinova, officially released the death toll on Saturday and it rose to 79 as people in Bishkek are still recovering from the violence. The figures also added that 45 are in hospital and remain in critical condition. Approximately 1,500 have been injured since Wednesday’s protests. The General Prosecutor of the current interim government stated on Saturday that it has opened a criminal case against three relatives of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s, reports CCTV News. The prosecutor said they have testimonial evidence that Bakiyev ordered security forces to open fire against civilians.