A woman sits in the remains of her family compound destroyed during the recent violence in Jalal-Abad June 22, 2010. Several days of clashes in the south of the impoverished country has divided the Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities in the Ferghana valley where the two countries intertwine. About 400,000 fled, about a quarter of whom crossed into Uzbekistan. Picture taken June 22, 2010. REUTERS/Susan Schulman/UNHCR/Handout
On arrival, TSF coordinated with the UN agencies and has since deployed to the UN logistics base at Osh airport, where it has set up satellite connections and is providing technical support.
TSF is deployed to Osh to assist in the humanitarian response at the heart of the conflict.
The south of Kyrgyzstan is home to an ethnic Uzbek minority of almost one million. Thousands flee as escalating ethnic clashes have prompted tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks to flee the country. An estimated 100,000 refugees from southern Kyrgyzstan have been admitted into neighbouring Uzbekistan, where the government has requested international assistance.
There are reports of 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDP) in Kyrgyzstan with 40,000 requiring shelter assistance and several concentrations of internally displaced ethnic Uzbeks in the border areas with Uzbekistan, particularly in Jalal-Abad province. This is not the first time TSF has been there, TSF deployed in 2001 to Uzbekistan to provide support during the conflict with Afghanistan.
The United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Foundation support the deployment of these emergency telecommunications teams to quickly deliver emergency aid, and to provide a valuable service to communities affected by disaster.