Uzbek leader Karimov buried

Samarkand : Uzbekistan laid strongman Islam Karimov to rest yesterday amid tight security, after his death triggered the deepest period of uncertainty in the country’s post-Soviet history with no clear successor in view.

Karimov, 78, was pronounced dead late Friday after suffering a stroke last weekend and falling into a coma, authorities said. 

An Islamic funeral for the iron-fisted leader -- who dominated the ex-Soviet nation for some 27 years -- was held in his home city of Samarkand, southwestern Uzbekistan, on Saturday and the country will begin three days of mourning.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the presidents of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan were among dignitaries attending the memorial service on the famed UNESCO World Heritage site of Registan Square. 

Uzbek state television showed footage of mourners carrying Karimov’s coffin through a crowd in the historic square which is encircled by blue-domed madrassas.

‘Irreplaceable loss’

“Our people and Uzbekistan have suffered an irreplaceable loss,” Russian news wire Interfax quoted Uzbek Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev as saying at the ceremony.

Loyalist Mirziyoyev headed the organising committee for the funeral, in a sign that he could be the frontrunner to replace Karimov.

‘We were all crying’ 

Despite his brutal quarter-century rule, which earned him a reputation abroad as one of the region’s most savage despots who ruthlessly stamped out opposition, people in Karimov’s home town mourned his passing and some youths wore black clothes.

“When we found out about his death, all my family were all crying, we couldn’t believe it,” one local man, 58, said, refusing to give his name. 

“It is a great loss for every Uzbek. He made our country free and developed.”

Crowds of people had earlier reportedly lined the road to watch and throw flowers at the cortege as it drove through the capital Tashkent.