18 dead in Uzbekistan unrest

TASHKENT: Authorities in Uzbekistan said on Monday 18 people died in clashes in the autonomous Karakalpakstan region when mass protests erupted last week over planned constitutional changes affecting the territory’s status.

The unrest, pitting protesters against security forces, represented the most significant challenge yet to the rule of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev since he rose to power from the post of prime minister in 2016, when long-serving mentor Islam Karimov died.

The security crackdown that ensued has drawn parallels with protests in the eastern city of Andijan in 2005, where 170 people were killed according to an official toll considered conservative at the time.