BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) — Kyrgyzstan’s opposition has taken over the government headquarters, the site of deadly clashes with police, and appears to be in control of the capital Thursday.
No police guard the building, and hundreds of jubilant but calm residents are standing outside and walking in.
Scars of the fighting, though, are everywhere, and the Health Ministry says the death toll rose overnight to 68, with 400 people still hospitalized.
The government of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev appears to have fled.
Opposition leader Rosa Otunbayeva has declared herself head of an interim government of this Central Asian nation housing a key U.S. air base.
She is to address parliament Thursday.
