A prominent Uzbek criminal boss and supporter of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was gunned down overnight on June 6-7, local press reported.
Aibek Mirsidikov – a.k.a. Black Aibek – is accused of attempting to seize power in Jalal-Abad on May 14. Clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz that day left several dead.
Bektur Asanov, the acting governor of Jalal-Abad province, said the death – at the hands of “gangsters” – shows that the Bakiyev family has lost the support of criminal networks.
A number of high-profile figures with criminal ties were killed following the so-called Tulip Revolution in 2005. Analysts say southern criminal groups are fighting for control of lucrative industries, including the drug trade, in the wake of Bakiyev's ouster.
Azimbek Beknazarov, the interim government’s first deputy for justice, suggested the murder could be linked to another prominent Uzbek businessman in Jalal-Abad, Black Aibek's nemesis Kadyrjan Batyrov.
Batyrov is wanted for his role in the May violence.
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