VIENNA, June 17 (UPI) -- The crisis unfolding in Kyrgyzstan will require an international effort to settle, the high commissioner on minorities for the OSCE said Thursday in Vienna.
Ethnic violence erupted last week in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh. A Red Cross official said Monday the death toll from the violence may be several hundred. Thousands of people were wounded and tens of thousands were displaced.
Knut Vollebaek, the high commissioner on national minorities for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said the international community must act not only to restore law and order but also to address the looming humanitarian situation.
"There can be no doubt that Kyrgyzstan still requires international assistance in order to stabilize the situation," said Vollebaek.
The high commissioner also called for an independent probe into the violence plaguing southern Kyrgyzstan, saying there "has to be a thorough investigation into what has been happening in the south of the country."
Prior to the Osh conflicts, Kyrgyz fighters said they were trying to protect the country from alleged Uzbek intentions of taking over portions of Kyrgyzstan.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross said its first deliveries of humanitarian aid arrived in the region Thursday carrying more than 40 tons of food.
The ICRC Wednesday described the crisis along the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border as "immense."
