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BBC News - Kyrgyzstan in crisis as clashes escalate
Seventeen people have been killed and more than 100 injured in escalating clashes between protesters and police in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
Protesters attacked President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's offices and stormed the state TV and radio headquarters, taking them briefly off air.
There are reports police fired live rounds after failing to disperse people with tear gas and stun grenades.
President Bakiyev has declared a state of emergency in protest-hit areas.
The protesters are angry at rising energy prices and accuse President Bakiyev of failing to tackle corruption.
There are fears that the death toll could rise.
Kyrgyzstan, a strategically important Central Asian state, houses a key US military base that supplies forces in Afghanistan. Russia also has a base there.
The US embassy in Bishkek and Russia have both expressed concern and called for restraint.
A spokesman for Ban Ki-moon said the UN secretary general was "shocked by the reported deaths and injuries that have occurred today in Kyrgyzstan. He urgently appeals for dialogue and calm to avoid further bloodshed".
The unrest broke out in the provincial town of Talas on Tuesday and spread to Bishkek and another town, Naryn, on Wednesday. All three are now under curfew.
Ilyas Amadiyarov, a student in Talas, told the BBC World Service by telephone that protesters there had broken through a line of police, scattering them. He could still hear gunfire which appeared to be coming from the security forces. His account cannot be verified independently.
The student said at least 4,000 people were involved in the protest in Talas, some of them coming in by car from surrounding villages.
Interior Minister Moldomusa Kongatiyev, who was believed to have gone to the town to calm the situation, was reportedly severely beaten. The extent of his injuries have not been confirmed.
Bloodstains
In Bishkek, protesters attempted to storm the president's office but were held back by security forces, who reportedly fired live rounds into the crowd.
The health ministry and an opposition leader said 17 people had been killed.
The minister of health said 180 people had been injured, but did not say how many were police or protesters.
State media and television went off air briefly after protesters stormed their offices but resumed broadcasting under government control.
One group of protesters arrived in the capital in an armoured personnel carrier.
The protesters in Bishkek appeared to be leaderless, says the BBC's Rayhan Demytrie in the capital, after a number of opposition heads were arrested overnight.
Earlier, police had used tear gas and stun grenades to break up crowds outside an opposition headquarters but the protesters overcame the police and marched to the presidential offices in the city centre.
Police cars have been overturned and set alight and officers attacked by the crowd, some of whom were armed.
Gunfire could be heard crackling through the centre of Bishkek and photographs from the city showed bloodstains on the pavement.
Protesters attacked President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's offices and stormed the state TV and radio headquarters, taking them briefly off air.
There are reports police fired live rounds after failing to disperse people with tear gas and stun grenades.
President Bakiyev has declared a state of emergency in protest-hit areas.
The protesters are angry at rising energy prices and accuse President Bakiyev of failing to tackle corruption.
There are fears that the death toll could rise.
Kyrgyzstan, a strategically important Central Asian state, houses a key US military base that supplies forces in Afghanistan. Russia also has a base there.
The US embassy in Bishkek and Russia have both expressed concern and called for restraint.
A spokesman for Ban Ki-moon said the UN secretary general was "shocked by the reported deaths and injuries that have occurred today in Kyrgyzstan. He urgently appeals for dialogue and calm to avoid further bloodshed".
The unrest broke out in the provincial town of Talas on Tuesday and spread to Bishkek and another town, Naryn, on Wednesday. All three are now under curfew.
Ilyas Amadiyarov, a student in Talas, told the BBC World Service by telephone that protesters there had broken through a line of police, scattering them. He could still hear gunfire which appeared to be coming from the security forces. His account cannot be verified independently.
The student said at least 4,000 people were involved in the protest in Talas, some of them coming in by car from surrounding villages.
Interior Minister Moldomusa Kongatiyev, who was believed to have gone to the town to calm the situation, was reportedly severely beaten. The extent of his injuries have not been confirmed.
Bloodstains
In Bishkek, protesters attempted to storm the president's office but were held back by security forces, who reportedly fired live rounds into the crowd.
The health ministry and an opposition leader said 17 people had been killed.
The minister of health said 180 people had been injured, but did not say how many were police or protesters.
State media and television went off air briefly after protesters stormed their offices but resumed broadcasting under government control.
One group of protesters arrived in the capital in an armoured personnel carrier.
The protesters in Bishkek appeared to be leaderless, says the BBC's Rayhan Demytrie in the capital, after a number of opposition heads were arrested overnight.
Earlier, police had used tear gas and stun grenades to break up crowds outside an opposition headquarters but the protesters overcame the police and marched to the presidential offices in the city centre.
Police cars have been overturned and set alight and officers attacked by the crowd, some of whom were armed.
Gunfire could be heard crackling through the centre of Bishkek and photographs from the city showed bloodstains on the pavement.
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