UZBEKISTAN: UPDATE ON EXPLOSIONS NEAR BUKHARA

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000802

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA, DRL, AND INR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2018
TAGS: PGOV CASC PINR PREL PTER UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN: UPDATE ON EXPLOSIONS NEAR BUKHARA

REF: TASHKENT 794

Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D)


1. (SBU) Summary: As the day progresses, more reports have
come in from Embassy contacts and local and international
news sources regarding the series of explosions which
occurred during the morning of July 10 in the town of Kagan,
approximately 15 kilometers from Bukhara (reftel). All
reports indicate that the explosions were caused by an
accident, possibly a fire ignited by an electrical short, at
an army munitions depot in Kagan. There are no reports that
the explosions were caused by a terrorist or criminal attack.
Uzbek government sources have so far reported that at least
three individuals were killed and 21 injured, but other
reports suggest that the number could climb higher. The
Ambassador shared his condolences with the Deputy Foreign
Minister and offered to seek emergency and medical
assistance. An international NGO (and U.S. grant recipient)
was set to hold its annual international conference in
Bukhara next week, and approximately 20-25 AmCit conference
participants were already in Bukhara when the explosions
occurred. The conference was cancelled and arrangements have
been made to evacuate the AmCits from Bukhara to Samarkand
and Tashkent.


2. (SBU) With the relative lack of concrete information
being reported by the official media, the rumor mill has
begun in full force in Bukhara, and some contacts have
reported hearing rumors that as many as 5,000 people have
been killed and that the government is planning to evacuate
the city of Bukhara as well. We are not yet able to confirm
or deny these rumors, but we suspect they are exaggerated,
though we also believe that the number of casualties and the
extent of the damage in Kagan are greater than what the
government has reported. We will continue to follow the
situation closely and provide updates as needed. The
Embassy's Emergency Action Committee was convened and
appropriate steps have been taken. End summary.

UPDATED INFORMATION ON EXPLOSIONS
--------------


3. (C) Poloff spoke again with Bukhara-based human rights
activist Shukhrat Ganiev, who clarified his earlier report on
the location of the helicopter base and army depot. He
explained that the depot where the explosions occurred was
inside Kagan, on a street called "Karoleyva," not in a
district outside of Kagan. Ganiev reported that all internet
and landline phone connections had been cut in Bukhara, and
he was only able to communicate with poloff using his
daughter's cell phone, which has a Tashkent telephone number
(Note: Other Emboffs were able to reach Bukhara residents,
but it is unclear whether they were calling Bukhara or
Tashkent numbers. End note.) He reported that local
television and radio had announced an evacuation of Kagan and
a district of Bukhara which bordered Kagan. Those evacuated
were asked to head to regions north and east of Bukhara. The
broadcast also called for people to remain calm and not
panic. He reported that many residents of Bukhara were still
indoors and feared further explosions. Ganiev estimated that
Kagan has about 45,000 residents.


4. (C) The Embassy's Office of Military Cooperation called
the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES),which reported
that it had dispatched a team to the site of the explosions,
but had not heard back yet from the team. The MES confirmed
that residents were being evacuated from Kagan, but not from
Bukhara. The MES promised to call the Embassy with more
information once it heard back from the team.


5. (C) The brother of one of the Embassy's local guards, who
is a neighborhood police commander in Kagan, reported that
the officials from the Ministries of Interior, Defense, and
Emergency Situations are in Kagan but cannot get inside the
depot yet, as shells are still exploding one at a time. He
further reported that firefighters will not be allowed into
the depot until the explosions completely cease.


6. (C) The Embassy's Travel Office was informed that all
trains to Bukhara were cancelled (Note: Bukhara's main train
station is located in Kagan. End note.) Train passengers
heading to Bukhara were being advised that they could travel
by train as far as the town of Qizil Tepe, approximately 50
kilometers from Bukhara, and then travel the rest of the way
by car or bus. The Travel Office reported that flights to
Bukhara have continued as normal.

LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE
--------------


7. (U) Quoting the state-controlled UzA news agency, Reuters
reported that a series of explosions at a helicopter base in
Kagan, which was used by Soviet forces during the Afghan war
in the 1980s, killed at least 3 people and wounded 21.
Reuters further reported that the explosions smashed windows
in buildings in Bukhara, several miles away from the depot.
A resident of Bukhara reported to Reuters that "witnesses say
there are many casualties...hospitals are full, many are
being sent to regional hospitals."


8. (U) UzA, citing the Ministry of Emergency Situations
(MES),stated that "all those injured are being given
necessary medical assistance" and that the Defense Ministry
had cordoned off the around the depot. MES was also cited by
the Russian RIA news agency as denying that there was
large-scale damage to Kagan's infrastructure, including to
its local hospital or railway station.


9. (U) According to the independent Ferghana.ru website,
representatives of the Uzbek Defense Ministry (MOD)
officially confirmed the explosions in Kagan. The MOD also
confirmed that there were casualties, but did not specify
numbers. Ferghana.ru further reported that a helicopter unit
in Kagan caught fire at around 11 p.m. on July 9, and that
soldiers had tried to put out the blaze, but could not
prevent it reaching artillery shells, which began to explode.


VIDEO AND PICTURES ON INDEPENDENT WEBSITE
--------------


10. (U) The independent Ferghana.ru website included a video
fragment apparently captured by an observer in Kagan on his
cell phone. The video shows the sky and buildings on the
horizon briefly illuminated in the afterglow of the
explosion, and several seconds later a loud popping sound can
be heard. The video is approximately one-minute long.
Ferghana.ru also posted photos of Kagan residents being
evacuated, while RIA posted on its website a photo of the
burned-out husk of a building surrounded by fire engines and
blue vehicles.

GROUP OF AMCITS PLANNED TO ATTEND CONFERENCE IN BUKHARA
-------------- --------------


11. (SBU) The International Education and Resource Network
(iEARN),a Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs (ECA)
grant recipient, planned to hold its annual international
conference and youth summit (www.iearn2008.uz) in Bukhara
from July 12 - 18. The AmCit organizer of the conference,
who is already in Bukhara, has been in continual contact with
the Embassy. He reported hearing from "security forces" that
the fires from the explosions were still not under control
and could reach some sort of chemical storage facility later
this evening. He said that 60 foreigners were already in
Bukhara for the conference, including approximately 20 - 25
AmCits. Ironically, some of the AmCits were set to make a
presentation at the conference on natural disaster
preparedness.


12. (SBU) The Public Affairs Officer suggested that the
AmCit conference organizer err on the side of caution and
cancel the conference, which he later did. The conference
organizer reported that arrangements had been made to
evacuate the AmCit conference participants by bus and to
house them at hotels in Samarkand and Tashkent.


13. (C) A Public Affairs exchange program alumnus and iEARN
coordinator in Bukhara reported that almost the entire town
of Kagan was being evacuated and that many houses were
damaged and people were injured. He reported that injured
and evacuated individuals were being housed at other
dormitories across Bukhara, including approximately 2,000
individuals at one college dormitory which normally holds
only 150. He also heard rumors of individuals in Bukhara
being evacuated.


14. (C) The conference organizer also reported that
conference participants from Qatar arrived at the Tashkent
International Airport on the morning of July 10 and were
refused entry by Uzbek immigration officials as soon as they
announced they were headed to Bukhara. They were forced to
get back on their plane and fly back to Qatar. We have so
far not heard of other foreign nationals being refused entry
into Uzbekistan.

CONSULAR ISSUES WARDEN MESSAGE
--------------


15. (U) The Embassy has no AmCits registered as residing in
Bukhara. One AmCit who was part of a tour group in Bukhara
called the Embassy asking about the explosions. The AmCit
reported that her tour was not interrupted and was continuing
as normal. The Embassy's Consular Section issued a Warden
message reporting the explosions and recommending that AmCits
temporarily avoid travel to the Bukhara region.

AMBASSADOR OFFERS ASSISTANCE
--------------


16. (C) The Ambassador called MFA America's Division Chief
Mamadjanov and asked whether the government wanted Explosive
Ordinance Disposal expertise or medical assistance to address
the situation in Kagan. Mamadjanov said he would inform the
Foreign Minister and let the Embassy know if any U.S.
assistance was desired. During a previously scheduled
morning meeting at the MFA, the Ambassador also shared his
condolences with First Deputy Foreign Minister Ilkhomjon
Nematov.


17. (C) The Defense Attache Office (DAO) also offered the
MOD emergency supplies and medical assistance. The MOD said
they would respond if any assistance was needed.

UZBEK RUMOR MILL IN FULL FORCE
--------------


18. (C) Despite limited Uzbek media coverage, the lack of
reliable information so far about the explosions appears to
have fueled the rumor mill in Bukhara. Poloff spoke to a
contact whose family members in Bukhara reportedly told him
that as many as 1,300 people were killed in Kagan and
"everything has been flattened." The family member further
reported that authorities are driving around Bukhara
announcing through megaphones that there could be another
major explosion this evening and that everyone should leave
the city, either west towards the town of Jondor, north
towards Gijdyvan, or east towards Navoi. The family members
also reported that authorities were not arranging transport
and people were frantically trying to assemble provisions and
leave the city themselves. According to the family, the
possible explosion could effect "a 50 kilometer radius."


19. (C) The Public Affairs alumnus and iEARN coordinator
later in the day reported rumors that as many as 5,000
individuals were killed and 20,000 individuals had been
evacuated to Bukhara schools and colleges. He further
reported that authorities were telling people in Bukhara to
evacuate to rural areas outside of the city for the next two
days because of fears of additional explosions.


20. (C) The independent Uzmetronom.com website reported that
"sources close to the MOD" did not rule out that the
explosions were an act of sabotage to discredit Defense
Minister Ruslan Mirzaev and expedite his removal.
According to the website's editor Sergei Yezhkov (who is
well-known for publishing damaging articles on government
officials that we suspect are fed to him by interested
parties),the sources reported that Mirzaev had been
fighting corruption among officers," who were reportedly
profiting from the illegal sale of army supplies (Comment: We
believe Yezhkov's article is pure speculation, and we have so
far seen no evidence to suggest that the explosions at Kagan
were caused by anything other than an accident. End comment.)

COMMENT
--------------


21. (C) We are so far in no position to confirm or deny
these reports, but we suspect the lack of concrete
information in the local press has fueled the spread of
worst-case scenario rumors. However, we also suspect that
the number of casualties and damage in Kagan is greater than
what the government has been reporting so far. We will
continue to follow the situation closely and provide updates
as needed. Meanwhile, the Embassy's Emergency Action
Committee was convened and appropriate steps were taken to
protect AmCits and engage in rumor control as outlined above.
NORLAND