As Many as 200 Killed in Uzbekistan

Human rights groups said as many as 200 people may have been killed, and local activists said troops removed scores of bodies from the city center early Saturday morning.
The violence was triggered by the prosecution of 23 prominent local businessmen on charges of religious extremism, part of a wider and much-resented government crackdown in this largely Muslim country on all forms of Islam that are not sanctioned by the state. Thousands of people have been swept into government jails where human rights groups say they are subject to torture.
The government began moving additional troops and equipment into the city Saturday, which is now effectively sealed off as roads into the city are blocked. A number of foreign journalists were detained and expelled from the city Saturday; Uzbek state television is providing almost no independent information on events in Andijan and elsewhere in the country.