Photo: Collected
Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani students have come under attack by local mobs in Kyrgyzstan.
“We are here, five Bangladeshi girls. We are inside our apartment right now. Some people are gathering in front of our apartment. Please help us," Samia Kabir, one of the Bangladeshi students at International School of Medicine, Kyrgyzstan, said on Saturday (18 May) evening.
"We have been asked by the authorities to stay inside. We hear some noises from other apartments nearby…some Pakistanis are likely to be there," Samia added.
Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, has been on the boil over the last couple of days, with violent mobs targeting hostels housing students from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
According to local media, tensions rose when footage of a brawl between Kyrgyz and international students, specifically Pakistanis and Egyptians, went viral on social media. Locals saw the incident, which happened on May 13, as a clear breach of the hospitality shown to international students.
Several Kyrgyz troops rushed to the streets on Friday night. Locals have accused officials of “lenient treatment” of the foreigners engaged in the altercation. Police, however, have stated that they apprehended three teenagers as soon as they received complaints of the May 13 brawl.
Messenger/Mumu
