Uzbeks say Kyrgyz police beat them up,killed two

Kyrgyz government forces swept into an ethnic Uzbek village on Monday,beating men and women with rifle butts in an assault that left at least two dead and more than 20 wounded,witnesses said.

The allegations were among the strongest Uzbek claims of official collusion in ethnic rampages that killed as many as 2,000 people last week and forced nearly half of the region’s Uzbeks to flee.

Kyrgyz authorities said they conducted the sweep in Nariman to track down suspected criminals that had taken refuge in the village. They said seven people were detained on suspicion of involvement in the killing of the head of the local police precinct a week ago.