Uzbek refugees hope for safe return

The United States is urging Kyrgyzstan to create conditions for a safe return of Uzbek refugees uprooted by an outburst of ethnic violence on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border.

The clashes have killed at least 2,000 people and set off a massive wave of refugees, with 400,000 people crammed in squalid camps with little access to clean water and food.

Robert Blake, the US assistant Secretary of State, said an international investigation must be held into the possible causes of the violence after visiting the border camps.

Al Jazeera's Robin Forestier Walker has the latest from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

June 19, 2010