UPDATE - 18 people killed during protests in Uzbekistan's Karakalpakstan

UPDATES WITH TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY STATEMENT

By Bahtiyar Abdulkerimov

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AA) - At least 18 people were killed and 243 others were injured in Uzbekistan’s protest-hit autonomous region of Karakalpakstan on July 1-2, prosecutors said on Monday.

In a statement, Uzbekistan's General Prosecutor's Office said that protests began in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan, over proposed constitutional changes that would have affected the region’s autonomous status.

The prosecutor’s office said that the protesters tried to storm government buildings.

Some 94 of the injured people were hospitalized and several of them are in serious health conditions. Also, 516 people were detained in connection with the incidents, it added.

On Saturday, Uzbekistan announced a month-long state of emergency in Karakalpakstan. The decree was signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev after demonstrations erupted in the region.

The decree limits entry and exit from the province and all public events are prohibited.

Mirziyoyev also visited the region’s capital on Saturday and announced that changes relating to Karakalpakstan will remain unchanged.

“It is necessary to leave the draft norms of the legal status of the Republic of Karakalpakstan unchanged,” he said, adding that “we will definitely build a new Uzbekistan and a new Karakalpakstan together."

Meanwhile, Türkiye on Monday expressed confidence that the Uzbekistan administration and people will resolve the issues with “common sense and in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.”

"We attach great importance to the stability and prosperity of our strategic partner, friendly and brotherly Uzbekistan, with which we have common civilization, culture and historical ties," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.