Uzbek authorities say city rocked by protests is now stable

Reporters were taken on an escorted trip on Wednesday to Nukus, the main city of Uzbekistan's autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, where markets were open and streets were busy with cars. The government has said 18 people were killed last week, including four members of the law enforcement forces, after protests broke out against a government proposal - subsequently dropped - to strip the republic of its autonomous status.

Authorities in Uzbekistan say normal life has returned to the city of Nukus after the deadliest clashes in the Central Asian state for nearly two decades, blaming the violence on protesters. Reporters were taken on an escorted trip on Wednesday to Nukus, the main city of Uzbekistan's autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, where markets were open and streets were busy with cars.

The government has said 18 people were killed last week, including four members of the law enforcement forces, after protests broke out against a government proposal - subsequently dropped - to strip the republic of its autonomous status. "Thanks to the promptly taken countermeasures and the explanatory work carried out among the population, the situation in Nukus has completely stabilized," Khamidjan Dadabaev, deputy commander of the National Guard, told reporters.

The U.S. State Department called this week for a full and transparent investigation into the deaths. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, urged the Uzbek authorities to "exercise utmost restraint". The violence is the worst to break out since 2005 in the former Soviet republic.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has accused what he called malicious foreign forces of instigating the violence, though without providing evidence or naming any country. He said their aim was to create inter-ethnic conflict. Dadabaev said foreign citizens were among those arrested. "Information about them is a secret of the investigation. It will be revealed later," he said.

Some protesters were injured when they attempted to throw back smoke and stun grenades launched by police, which exploded in their hands, he said. Reporters on the government-organized trip saw police checkpoints at various points around the city and close to administrative buildings. There was a visible but not overwhelming military presence, including armored personnel carriers.

The city was still without internet access. The foreign ministry said in a statement this was a temporary measure to counter fake news and attempts to involve people in anti-constitutional activities. An 18-year-old IT student, who asked not to be named, told Reuters that violence was not what Nukus needed. "I just took my first exams, and I am keen to continue my IT classes and want to see my city stable," he said.

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