In the capital, several thousand protesters held a demonstration near the parliament building. The crowd was also dispersed by the police force which shot in the air and used stun grenades.

Meanwhile, not far from the opposition rally scene, government supporters were gathering for their own meeting.

Anti-government protesters also demanded that the police removed checkpoints at the entrance to the city and allowed supporters of Urmat Baryktobasov to enter. The protesters claimed, writes RIA Novosti, that their leader as well as several buses with his supporters had been stopped not far from the capital.

Kyrgyz Interior Minister Kubatbek Baibolov stated that the opposition was planning a “violent and armed seizure of power” in the country.

“It was found out that weapons – including grenades, carbines, pistols and others – were being handed over,” he said. It is also known, he said, that criminals – members of organized gangs – were involved in Thursday’s rallies and were paid for participating in them. Baibolov said that Baryktobasov attacked three employees of the criminal investigation departments; one of them is currently in a grave condition.

“Everyone who attempted to seize power and the criminals will be detained,” he stated.

The minister has also urged the population not to rise to the provocation and avoid taking part in mass rallies. Baibolov recommended that the capital’s citizens avoid staying out late, since harsh measures may be taken against the instigators of the unrest.

In 2005, after the so-called “Tulip Revolution”, the businessman attempted to run for president, but was denied registration because of dual citizenship. In protest, his supporters seized the government headquarters and held it for several hours. Baryktabasov fled the country and returned only after the former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s was ousted earlier this year. Now Baryktabasov and his supporters demand that the criminal charges against him are dropped and that he is allowed to take part in next presidential election.

It is rumored that the politician’s supporters could have seized some weaponry at a military unit in the Issyk Kul region, writes RIA Novosti. However, Kyrgyz authorities denied that the unit had been disarmed. They also refuted reports that a state of emergency has been declared in the country.

Meanwhile, the Kyrgyz Prosecutor General's Office received a request from Kazakhstan for the extradition of Baryktobasov. He is suspected of committing economic crime on the territory of Kazakhstan, reported Itar-Tass, citing Farid Niyazov, a spokesman for the republic's government.

Ivan Safranchuk, from the Russian State University of International Relations, told RT that the current unrest in Kyrgyzstan can have wider international consequences.

“There is growing instability in the north of Afghanistan. And this is just a few hundred kilometers away from south Kyrgyzstan. So if Kyrgyzstan becomes an uncontrolled territory where there is no real authority and where there is rule of force and some regional and clan leaders, then those who are under pressure in Afghanistan may think ‘Well, we have another place to go.’ And they can go there through the territory of Tajikistan, also not a perfectly controlled territory,” said Ivan Safranchuk.