Kyrgyzstan’s Fragmented Police and Armed Forces

This article is a first attempt to analyze the underlying reasons behind the unprofessional behavior of the Kyrgyz military and police during ethnic conflict in Osh on June 10-14, 2010. It argues that the higher military leadership in Bishkek shares a common distrust of the Tashkent regime and overall uncertainly about power sharing two months after regime change, while lower level personnel may have provoked the Uzbek minority, because of their nationalist feelings (the majority of police and army personnel are ethnic Kyrgyz) and overall frustration with the fragmented political leadership. The situation was further exacerbated by the lack of political control over the security forces and their lack of adequate training to deal with civic unrest.