Uzbekistan buries President Islam Karimov

Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan president Islam Karimov, who has ruled the country for the past 25 years, was on Saturday buried in his home town of Samarkand. President Karimov died on Friday at the age of 78 after suffering from a stroke.


He was buried at the city's Shah-i-Zinda cemetery after a funeral rite was held for him in Samarkand's ancient Registan square which was attended by hundreds of men.

Karimov who was mocked by Western governments as a dictator who violated human rights has been the only head of state the citizens of the country have ever known and

 

With no apparent successor to the presidency, Karimov's death has triggered an uncertainty about the future.


During the funeral rites at the Samarkand ceremony, Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev, 59, and Finance Minister Rustam Azimov, 57, were seated in the front row, close to Karimov's coffin which might have given a clue as to who may be in the running for the presidency.

 

Analyst from Central Asia says if the elite fail to agree among themselves on a transition, the resulting instability might be exploited by Islamist militants who in the past have staged violent attacks in the country and want to make Uzbekistan part of an Islamic caliphate.

US President Barack Obama in a statement offering his condolences, said the US stood with Uzbekistan as it "begins a new chapter in its history"