Russian airbase in Kyrgyzstan has been put on high alert in the wake of an unrest in the Central Asian country that left at least 47 people killed and some 400 injured, a source in the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"Due to the unrest in Bishkek military servicemen at the airbase in Kant have been put on high alert. Permission to leave the base has been restricted for the servicemen," he said.
Protests, initiated in by the country's opposition began in the northwestern Kyrgyz town of Talas on Tuesday spreading to other regions of the country, including the capital Bishkek, on Wednesday. Opposition has declared that it assumed full power in Kyrgyzstan.
The source added that no incidents have so far been registered near the Russian airbase, which is located some 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside Bishkek.
The airbase in Kant was opened in 2003. Some 250 Russian officers and 150 enlisted personnel from Russia's 5th Air Army are deployed at the base, as well as Su-25 Frogfoot strike aircraft and Mi-8 transport helicopters.
MOSCOW, April 8 (RIA Novosti)
