During the general mayhem, exiles from the Uzbek minority claim they were assaulted and driven to Uzbekistan, with some 400,000 Kyrgyzstani citizens becoming internally displaced.

[8] Then-head of the Interim government Roza Otunbayeva indicated that the death toll is tenfold higher than was previously reported, which brings the number of the dead to 2,000 people.

CIS Member State During the winter of 2009–2010 Kyrgyzstan suffered from rolling blackouts and cutoffs occurring regularly while energy prices rose.

[11] Long-term frustration was building in Kyrgyzstan over the perceived corruption and cronyism in the Bakiyev administration, as well as the country's poor economic situation and a recent rise in utility rates.

The Guardian, a British national daily newspaper, published an article on 8 April that suggested the revolt could be dubbed the Fir Tree Revolution after the shrubs that looters dug up from the front garden of Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

The Eurasian Daily Monitor reported on 1 April that, for two weeks, the Kremlin had used the Russian mass media to run a negative campaign against Bakiyev.

It quoted that an arrest warrant had been issued in early March by Italian judge Aldo Morgigni for Eugene Gourevitch, a Kyrgyz-American who was accused of defrauding Telecom Italia.

Furthermore, Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, was the first foreign leader to recognise Roza Otunbayeva as the new Kyrgyz leader, and rang her soon after she announced she was in charge, while the deputy head of the interim Kyrgyz government, Almazbek Atambayev, flew to Moscow on 9 April for consultation with unspecified Russian government officials, ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

[25] Stratfor reported on 13 April "Given its strategic location, control of Kyrgyzstan offers the ability to pressure Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China.

In Bishkek, a crowd of about 500 protesters began to gather around a bus stop in an industrial area, with several speakers making speeches about the events in Talas.

[33] In an attempt to gain entrance to the presidential office, demonstrators drove two trucks into the gates of the White House, at which point it was reported that police started firing on protesters with live ammunition.

[29] After being off the air for part of the day, KTR resumed transmission Wednesday evening featuring members of the opposition as well as human rights representatives.

[38] By late Wednesday opposition leaders had announced the formation of a new government, and soon thereafter reports came in that President Bakiyev had left Bishkek and flown to Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan.

[34] In addition to Bishkek and Talas, rallies and protests were reported in other parts of the country, including Naryn, Tokmok, and the Issyk-Kul region.

[49] President Bakiyev, who was confirmed by the Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Defense to be in his residence in Osh,[50] has acknowledged that he currently had no power to influence events in the country, though he refused to resign his post.

[51] Even with the opposition reporting itself in control of the police and the army,[51] residents in Bishkek began forming volunteer militias to stave off marauders.

[citation needed] Tension mounted in the country when the interim government threatened to hunt down Bakiyev while simultaneously offering an olive branch should he go into exile.

"[55] During a nuclear summit in Washington the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested Kyrgyzstan was in the throes of a civil war and that it could turn into a "second Afghanistan" if the political deadlock was not resolved.

"[54] On 14 April 2010, interim leader Roza Otunbayeva announced that President Bakiyev, his defense minister, as well as relatives in government and political allies would face trial over the deaths of protesters.

The interim government responded to this by calling his departure a "deportation", saying he had allegedly submitted a request to resign amid reports indicating that Baktybek Kaliyev, a former defence minister, had been arrested.

Kazakhstan, as the chair of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, confirmed Bakiyev's departure saying it was an important step towards preventing civil war.

"[64] He also accused the Russians of being annoyed with his allowing the Manas air base to continue operating for the Americans and NATO to supply their forces in the Afghan war.

[65] On 23 April, Bakiyev backtracked on his vow to return to power, but claimed his resignation is invalid because the new government is failing to protect his family as was promised.

By 18 April, Bakiyev supporters seized a regional government office in the south of the country, after appointing their own governor, Paizullabek Rahmanov.

Some 1,000 people gathered in the southwestern town's main square on 19 April, denouncing the interim government and chanting pro-Bakiyev slogans.

[71] On 22 April 2010, it was announced that a constitutional referendum, in order to reduce presidential powers and "strengthen democracy", would be held on 27 June 2010; a general elections would then follow on 10 October 2010.

[77] On 9 June violence erupted in the southern city of Osh with ethnic Kyrgyz rioting, attacking minority Uzbeks and lighting their property ablaze.

The spreading of the violence required the interim government led by Roza Otunbayeva to declare a state of emergency on 12 June, in an attempt to take control of the situation.

A provisional government was established with the following leaders at its head: Various states in the region and beyond expressed concern and called for stability in the country.

The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed its deep concern about the worsening humanitarian situation in southern Kyrgyzstan and called on the Kyrgyz authorities to do everything in their power to protect their citizens, restore order and ensure respect for the rule of law.,[82][83]