The pink and yellow revolution

Following Ukraine and Georgia, the latest revolution was a swift event that was over almost as soon as it began. However, last night outbreaks of serious looting had broken out in the capital, Bishkek, adding a dark note to the political change and underlining the challenges it presents.

Unrest had been growing since elections last month provoked claims of ballot rigging by the government. Calls for Askar Akayev, the president, to stand down were followed this week by opposition protesters seizing control of government buildings and cities in the south.

With the administration refusing to annul election results, thousands took to the streets of the capital on Wednesday though they were quickly dispersed by police.

But as events unfolded yesterday it was clear the opponents of the government were not to be dissuaded from revolution.

By early morning they had taken over the presidential compound in the capital and hours later seized the television station.

Many demonstrators wore pink and yellow armbands which are rapidly becoming the colours of anti-Akayev protest - much as orange was the campaign colour in Ukraine and the red rose the symbol of the opposition in Georgia.

The whereabouts of Mr Akayev were unknown yesterday, with some reports suggesting he had fled the country with his family.

Askat Dukenbayev, a professor from the local American University, said: "This is a popular revolution and the power is in the hands of the people. We don’t fear anyone any more."

At least 30 people were reported injured in the clashes with pro-Akayev supporters as demonstrators took to the streets to demand that Mr Akayev resign after 14 years in office and annul what they say were fraudulent parliamentary election results.

But while the hunt continued for Mr Akayev, a spokesman for former prime minister Kurmanbek Bakiev, another opposition leader, said Nikolai Tanayev, the current prime minister, had tendered his resignation.

Later, Kyrgyzstan’s lower parliament chamber named Mr Bakiev acting prime minister.

Unlike Ukraine and Georgia, there is no single unifying opposition leader in Kyrgyzstan. But Mr Bakiev played a leading role in events yesterday and could turn out to be a key figure.

There was speculation that Mr Akayev might have flown to neighbouring Kazakhstan or sought sanctuary in a Russian airbase 12 miles outside Bishkek. The local head of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which had criticised the February and March elections, said Mr Akayev might have left the country.

As authorities struggled to maintain order, a shopping centre on the main street, Beta Stores, was looted, by mostly shabbily dressed, thuggish-looking young men who carried out everything from mattresses, coat hangers and mirrors to crates of food.