Kyrgyz security forces storm ex-president Atambayev's residence

Kyrgyz security forces stormed the house of former president Almazbek Atambayev on Wednesday, local media reported, citing witnesses and showing television footage in which gunshots could be heard.

Parliament accused Atambayev of corruption and stripped him of immunity from prosecution in June after he fell out with current president Sooronbai Jeenbekov, a former protege.

Atambayev-controlled television station April showed footage from outside his home in Koi Tash, a village near the capital Bishkek. Armed men wearing camouflage and bulletproof vests could be seen in the videos and gunshots could be heard.

April also showed dozens of men, some carrying rocks, gathering outside the house.

News websites 24.kg and Akipress.kg said armed security forces were seen entering it while a helicopter flew overhead. They cited witnesses saying they had heard gunshots and seen wounded people leaving the house.

It was not immediately clear if Atambayev had been arrested or if he was among the wounded.

Since he lost his immunity, police have repeatedly asked him to come in for questioning, which he has refused to do, dismissing the requests as illegal.

The politically volatile Central Asian nation, a former Soviet republic, hosts a Russian military airbase and is closely allied with Moscow. Atambayev met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in late July, but in a statement afterwards Putin expressed support for Jeenbekov.