Bakiyev calls for protest probe

Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the ousted president of Kyrgyzstan, says he is ready to bear full responsibility for the aftermath of the country’s April 7 uprising if an independent commission finds him at fault.

Bakiyev, who fled the capital, Bishkek, on Wednesday after violent anti-government protests, said he is inviting an international commission to investigate the clashes, in which 81 people were killed.

But he told Al Jazeera that he is also calling on the United Nations to send a peacekeeping force to Kyrgyzstan, to stop what he called “criminal elements” from growing in the country.