UN says around 400,000 people displaced by violence in Kyrgyzstan

Children eat at a refugee camp for ethnic Uzbeks fleeing from clashes in Jalalabad Region in Kara-Su, near the border with Kyrgyzstan some 400 km (249 miles) east of Tashkent June 16, 2010. Kyrgyz troops patrolled the burned-out streets of the southern city of Osh on Wednesday to maintain a fragile peace between ethnic groups following days of fierce fighting.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

GENEVA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- So far around 400,000 people have been displaced by the violent situation in Kyrgyzstan, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday.

That number includes an estimated 100,000 refugees who have fled to neighboring Uzbekistan following violence pitting ethnic Uzbeks against ethnic Kyrgyz in southern Kyrgyzstan since June 10, the agency said in a statement.

Besides, there are around 300,000 internal displaced people who are either living with host families or still seeking shelter, it said.

The border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan remains open, and some 9,000 refugees arrived in Uzbekistan on Wednesday alone, it added.

According to the UN agency, security in the southern city of Osh remains fragile, and pockets of violence persist around some villages.