The first United Nations aid plane arrived Wednesday in Uzbekistan to help the thousands of people who have fled ethnic clashes in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, officials with a U.N. Refugee agency said.
The U.N. cargo plane carrying about 800 lightweight tents will add to a growing effort to try and aid the estimated 100,000 people who have fled fighting in Kyrgyzstan to refugee camps in Uzbekistan. Several countries, including the United States and Russia, have also sent aid.
Relative calm continued in Osh, Kyrgyzstan’s second largest city, Wednesday. But sporadic gunfire could be heard.
The Central Asian nation’s news agency 24.kg reported that the death toll had risen to 179, a number that some observers discounted as low.
Kyrgyzstan’s interim government declared Wednesday a day of mourning for families of the many killed and thousands wounded in the violence that started last week.
Full story: Aid flows in for those fleeing Kyrgyzstan violence – CNN.com