The last few days brought new troubles for the small Central Asian country. There was unrest and tensions in the Southern city Osh, where at least 69 people were killed, and over 800 wounded. The clashes were between the Kyrgyz majority and the Uzbek minority –comprising a third of the population in Southern Kyrgyzstan. Violence is now spreading to the southern Kyrgyz city of Jalal-Abad.

The interim Kyrgyz government appealed for outside military intervention, because it felt unable to handle the situation. However, Russia declined to send troops at least for the moment, and sent humanitarian aid instead.

This is not good. We know that failing states are often accompanied by sectarian and ethnic violence. The fear of the other that drives so much ethnic conflict stimulates and fuels hostilities between regimes and subordinate and less favored groups. Now the question is whether the Kyrgyz government can create strong institutions in the country, and fast. This is the only way to curb ethnic tensions. Should it fail, we will shortly have the first failed state in Central Asia.