The World : New Soviet Ethnic Rioting

Two days of ethnic rioting in Uzbekistan left an undisclosed number of dead, and Soviet authorities have imposed a curfew in portions of the southern republic, the official Tass news agency reported. “Extremist elements provoked unrest,” Tass said. It said police and Interior Ministry troops were used to quell the rioting in the republic, which borders Afghanistan. Tass did not say what caused the flare-up. The conflict was among mostly Muslim Uzbeks and ethnic Turk-Meskhetis, Tass said. The Meskhetis are a small minority originally from southern Georgia. Conquered by Turks in the 16th Century, they were absorbed into Russia in the 19th Century.