**Kyrgyzstan’s President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who was forced to flee the capital Bishkek amid a bloody uprising, has insisted he will not resign.**In an interview with Russian radio, Mr Bakiyev said he was in the south and would not leave. But he accepted the opposition controlled security forces.
The opposition, under ex-foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva, says it has taken full power.
The violent uprising has left 75 people dead and more than 1,000 injured.
Mr Bakiyev, who came to power in a revolution in the Central Asian state five years ago, fled the bloody clashes in Bishkek on Wednesday reportedly to fly to the city of Osh.
He told the Ekho Moskvy radio station he was in southern Kyrgyzstan but would not disclose the exact location.
“I have no plans to leave at the moment,” he said.
Mr Bakiyev said: “I don’t admit defeat in any way,” although he added: “Even though I am president, I don’t have any real levers of power.”
Earlier the Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg said it had been sent a statement by e-mail from Mr Bakiyev. The statement has not yet been authenticated.
The statement quotes Mr Bakiyev as saying Kyrgyzstan “is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe”.
Mr Bakiyev says that “in case of further destabilisation the whole responsibility will fall on the leaders of the opposition… [they] will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law”.
Mr Bakiyev’s defiance followed a news conference held by Ms Otunbayeva in which she said her interim government - which would remain in power until elections are held in six months - was fully in control of the country and had appointed new ministers.
She said Mr Bakiyev was trying to rally support in his home region of Jalal-Abad and urged him to resign, saying: “His business here is over.”
Ms Otunbayeva went on: "What we did yesterday was our answer to the repression and tyranny against the people by the Bakiyev regime.
“You can call this revolution. You can call this a people’s revolt. Either way, it is our way of saying that we want justice and democracy.”
The violence initially broke out in the provincial town of Talas on Tuesday and spread to the capital Bishkek, where demonstrators marched on government buildings, and another town, Naryn, on Wednesday.
Reuters news agency reported scuffles in Osh on Thursday between hundreds of Bakiyev supporters and members of the opposition who had taken over a government building.
The BBC’s Rayhan Demytrie in Bishkek says Mr Bakiyev has a large support base in the south but it remains to be seen how many people there will turn out for him and whether he will try to fight back with their backing.
The scene in Bishkek on Thursday was calm, with the opposition apparently in control of the government headquarters.
There was widespread looting and gunfire during the night in the capital.
Kyrgyzstan is a strategically important central Asian state and houses a Russian base and a key US military base that supplies forces in Afghanistan. The US suspended military flights on Wednesday.
Ms Otunbayeva said the “status quo would remain” regarding the bases but that some questions had to be considered.
Russian paratroopers
On Thursday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said it was “time to work urgently in establishing constitutional order” in Kyrgyzstan.
Announcing he would be sending a UN envoy to the country immediately, Mr Ban said: “There are difficult social and economic issues underlying the unrest.”
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Ms Otunbayeva held telephone talks, Moscow said.
“It is important that the conversation was held with her in her role as the head of the government of national trust,” Mr Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters.
The Russian chief of staff of the armed forces said an extra 150 paratroopers were being sent to Russia’s Kant military base, near Bishkek, to ensure the security of Russian personnel there. Moscow has denied playing any role in the unrest.
On Thursday, European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said the EU was offering emergency humanitarian aid to help stabilise the nation.
“I call on all sides to show continued restraint. A rapid return to public order is essential to avoid further loss,” she said.
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