The Russian Embassy in Kyrgyzstan denied...

Hundreds of rioters went on a rampage after they tried to seize some 700 hectares of land outside the capital, saying it was theirs to build houses on, but the villagers drove them away.

Some media reports said the rioters chanted anti-Russian slogans and that there were Russian citizens among the injured in the clashes.

"Reports on Russians being injured are exaggerated. There is no information on injured Russian citizens," Viktor Kharchenko, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy, said.

He said that the diplomatic mission contacted the Kyrgyz Health Ministry, which confirmed that all those injured in the clashes were locals.

Kharchenko also said the embassy is checking information concerning reports on anti-Russian slogans during the riots.

"We are very careful with such statements. We have not yet confirmed this information. We are following the developments closely," he added.

Around a tenth of the population in the former Soviet Central

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