By David L. Stern - GlobalPost
Published: June 17, 2010 18:33 ET in Asia
[url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/asia/100617/kyrgyzstan-news-ethnic%20conflict?page=0,1]Global Post[/url]
In Osh last weekend, entire streets and neighborhoods went up in flames, sometimes incinerating families inside them, in an outbreak of racial violence. The official death toll is reaching 200, but many observers believe that this figure may climb higher. The United Nations says that 400,000 people have now fled the hostilities.

Kyrgyzstan seems to be spiraling downward. Two months ago the country ousted its leader, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, in fighting that left nearly a hundred dead. The provisional leaders who replaced him seem weak and divided, especially after their apparent helplessness in the face of the recent violence in the country's south.

Osh has stabilized, but there is a palpable tension in the air, as if the population is waiting for the next shoe to drop. Stores hav ... Read more »