BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The government in Kyrgyzstan said Tuesday at least nine police officers were injured in clashes this week in the restive southern city of Osh.
The region's Interior Department issued a statement to Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg Tuesday saying the officers were injured when protesters seized a government building.
The Interior Department said police regained control over the building following demonstrations Monday. One protester was arrested for pelting police with stones.
Thousands of demonstrators turned out in Osh this week to protest judicial pressure on the opposition Ata-Zhurt party.
Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, is struggling politically to evolve after ethnic violence followed a coup in 2010. The cities of Osh and Jalal Abab were gripped by violence between ethnic Uzbek and Kyrgyz communities after the coup. At least 400 people were killed in the fighting and 400,000 more were displaced.
