Kyrgyz government says Bakiyev resigns

Ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev left Kyrgyzstan on Thursday and a government source says he has officially resigned, a week after an uprising against his five-year rule sparked fears of civil war.

A source in the interim government, which took control after an April 7th revolt, says Bakiyev has signed a letter of resignation.

Earlier on Thursday, the 60-year-old president was bundled into his jeep and whisked away when bodyguards fired into the air to disperse a crowd of his opponents trying to disrupt a rally he was addressing.

Bakiyev has flown to Kazakhstan, where he will conduct negotiations on the settlement of the crisis in his country.

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev (C) talks to his supporters in Teyyit April 15, 2010. REUTERS/Denis Sinyakov