Kyrgyz president formally resigns

Deposed president Kurmanbek Bakiyev formally resigned in a hand-written letter faxed to Kyrgyzstan's new leaders, officials said…

Deposed president Kurmanbek Bakiyev formally resigned in a hand-written letter faxed to Kyrgyzstan's new leaders, officials said today, allaying fears of civil war in the strategic Central Asian country

Mr Bakiyev fled to neighboring Kazakhstan yesterday, ending days of turmoil that disrupted US military flights through a Kyrgyz air base to operations in Afghanistan.

The crisis has underlined rivalries between the United States and Russia for influence in Central Asia, a vast region between China, Afghanistan and the Caspian Sea.

The interim government, led by Roza Otunbayeva, said Mr Bakiyev had faxed his resignation letter overnight from Kazakhstan.

"I tender my resignation in these tragic days as I understand the full scale of my responsibility for the future of the Kyrgyz people," Mr Bakiyev said in the letter.

Its text was posted on the Twitter account of the interim chief of staff, often used by his team to make announcements. A photograph showed Ms Otunbayeva reading the letter.

Mr Bakiyev's departure has sharply reduced tensions in the impoverished former Soviet republic after a violent uprising against his five-year rule raised the specter of civil war.

He has not appeared in public since fleeing. Officials say he is in the Kazakh city of Taraz with his wife and two children. Russian media say he could fly on to Turkey or Latvia.

Taraz, a sleepy town in the southern Kazakh steppe on the Kyrgyz border, overflowed with rumours after Mr  Bakiyev's arrival. A local security source said Mr Bakiyev had been taken to a secret location in Taraz and locals saw a motorcade of jeeps without number plates driving out of the airport overnight.

At least 84 people were killed in the uprising last week when a protest against the president 's rule erupted into a night of gunfire and looting in the Kyrgyz capital. Troops loyal to Mr  Bakiyev shot into a crowd of thousands of demonstrators.

Addressing the nation in a live televised statement, Ms Otunbayeva said Mr Bakiyev must stand trial over the events. "He cannot run away from trial. He cannot hide from it in any country in the world," she said. "Retribution is unavoidable. Justice will prevail." Mr Bakiyev had earlier said he did not order troops to shoot at protesters.

Ms Otunbayeva allies have accused Mr Bakiyev of nepotism and corruption and say Washington overlooked human rights abuses in its resolve to maintain the base. Washington has denied this.

Ms Otunbayeva said the presidents of the United States, Russia and Kazakhstan had personally helped mediate in the crisis.

Russia, which also has an air base in Kyrgyzstan, sought to pressure Mr Bakiyev to evict the United States from its Manas air base, through which 50,000 US troops passed last month.

The new government says it plans to allow Washington to keep the base but has hinted it may review some elements of its work.

Speaking in Brasilia, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who had warned that Kyrgyzstan could become a "second Afghanistan," said he believed the "negative scenario" had been avoided. "Everything could have ended in a full-scale civil war and a state split into parts. I hope ... this scenario is currently excluded," he said.

Mr Bakiyev had demanded that two of his brothers, accused by the opposition of playing a role in the deaths of his opponents and last week's violence, should be allowed to leave with him. It is unclear where they are.

Interim government officials said forces were conducting an operation in southern Kyrgyzstan to round up any Bakiyev allies thought to be hiding in the region. Mr Bakiyev's defence minister has already been arrested, Ms Otunbayeva said.

Reuters