Southern parts of this impoverished Central Asian nation were thrown into chaos by five days of ethnic violence during which mobs of Kyrgyz attacked ethnic Uzbek neighborhoods. The violence followed a bloody uprising in April that toppled President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

A large number of victims have not been officially identified because many were buried quickly in keeping with Muslim tradition.

Acting deputy Interior Minster Bakyt Alynbayev said Saturday digging up the corpses was essential for full investigations and compensation claims.