KYRGYZ SOLDIERS GUARD THEIR HEADQUARTERS IN BATKEN, 1999-09-08 (photo)

FOR RELEASE WITH FEATURE BC-KYRGYZSTAN-REFUGEES - Kyrgyz soldiers guard headquarters in Batken. More than 5,000 people descended on Batken, the administrative centre of a mountainous region where 750 fighters have been hiding for over two weeks after crossing from southern neighbour Tajikistan. The gunmen, said to be members of Uzbekistan's radical Moslem opposition movement, have occupied villages and hamlets to the south of Batken and are holding hostages, including four Japanese geologists and a senior Kyrgyz military official. Picture taken 3SEP99. SZH/CVI