Financial toll of combating insurgency increases

The Kyrgyz parliament has increased defence allocations for the year from US $17.5 million to US $20 million, as it prepares to combat Islamic rebels. Last year, the government spent US $30 million, or 13 percent of its annual budget, coping with clashes caused by Islamic extremism, according to a report by Associated Press in the capital Bishkek on Wednesday. Kyrgyz Defence Minister Esen Topoyev said that violence was expected to resume this summer. A parliamentary security committee report released on Wednesday said that over 5,000 Kyrgyz troops had taken part in fighting with insurgents last year, leaving 31 servicemen dead, 25 wounded and three Mi-8 helicopters destroyed. Kyrgyz security officials claim that the rebels, who allegedly want to carve out an Islamic state in Central Asia, are using their faith to disguise drug-running operations, the report said.