Elite security forces stormed former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev’s property, Wednesday, August 7, to detain him on corruption charges. Parliament accused Atambayev of corruption and stripped him of immunity from prosecution in June, after he had a falling out with current President Sooronbai Jeenbekov. Local news sites cited witnesses saying people were wounded via rubber bullets in the raid. There was no immediate official comment on whether Atambayev had been arrested or if he was among the wounded.
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READ MORE: Police investigators summoned former Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev for questioning on Monday, setting the stage for a stand-off between him and his successor, incumbent Sooronbai Jeenbekov, in the volatile Central Asian nation.
Jeenbekov, who came to power in 2017 with Atambayev's support and used to be his close ally, sidelined his predecessor last year by reshuffling senior security officials and wresting control over the ruling party out of Atambayev's hands.
An escalation of the conflict between the two could be of concern to Russia which has a military air base in the former Soviet republic and counts it among its closest political allies. Atambayev dismissed the summons as illegal.
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