The US says it is "deeply disturbed" by reports that troops in Uzbekistan fired on unarmed civilians during a protest in the east of the country. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for political reform in the country following the recent violence. Local sources say several hundred people died when troops shot at unarmed protesters in Andijan on Friday. British Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw is expected to raise the reported killings when he visits Washington on Tuesday, BBC reported today. Straw, who has condemned the violence, said his Uzbek counterpart had pledged to allow diplomats access to Andijan on Tuesday. However, the Uzbek foreign ministry made no mention of any such agreement. The city is currently sealed off. Journalists forced to leave say they saw more than 30 police checkpoints on the main road to the capital, Tashkent.
