Straw in plea to US over Uzbek massacre

Jack Straw flew to Washington today for urgent talks about the reported massacre of men, women and children in Uzbekistan.

The Foreign Secretary was set to raise the reported killings of hundreds of demonstrators by government troops in the central Asian republic when he meets his US counterpart, Condoleezza Rice.

There were fears today the death toll could be more than 1,000. It

was reported 500 bodies had been laid out in a school in the eastern city of Andijan, the centre of the uprisings against the government.

The Foreign Office has been appalled by the brutal suppression of protests and Mr Straw decided it was time to speak out as fresh TV footage emerged. He said the actions of the Uzbek authorities "plainly cannot be justified" and demanded immediate access to Andijan for the International Red Cross, foreign diplomats and journalists. But the initial reaction in the US was more muted, with the administration urging both sides to avoid further clashes. Dr Rice has called for political reform, saying the system in the former Soviet republic is "politically too closed".

But the US appears to be reluctant to be too critical of a key regional ally in its war on international terrorism, which provides access to an important air base.

Britain's close alliance with President Bush over the war on Iraq has given leverage with Washington and Mr Straw hopes that he can persuade the US to act. Uzbekistan has supported US attempts to curb violence in neighbouring Afghanistan and was crucial to the ousting of the Taliban.

President Islam Karimov has blamed the uprising on Islamic extremists.

In graphic testimony, witnesses told Reuters that troops outside a school used an armoured personnel carrier's machinegun to fire at the crowd, a mix of armed rebels, protesters and onlookers including women and children.

The first to be killed were 10 police who were being held hostage and begged the soldiers not to fire, said the witnesses,

Flowers dotted the streets and freshly dug graves appeared across Andijan today as residents mourned what witnesses said were hundreds killed by security forces last week - the worst unrest since the former Soviet republic won independence in 1991.

Ms Rice said last night the US was "still trying to understand" what has happened in Andijan, where government troops put down a prison uprising by alleged Islamic militants and a protest by citizens over economic conditions.