The scene in Bishkek on Thursday morning was calm, with the opposition apparently in control of the government headquarters.

Speaking at a packed news conference, Ms Otunbayeva said parliament had been dissolved.

She said an interim government - which would remain in power for six months - was fully in control of the country and had appointed new ministers.

Mr Bakiyev had not yet resigned, she said, but was believed to have returned to Jalalabad, in the south of the country, to try to rally support.

"We want to negotiate his resignation," Reuters news agency quotes her as saying. "His business here is over."

The BBC's Rayhan Demytrie in Bishkek says Mr Bakiyev has a large support base in the south where Osh, the country's second city, is located.

It has yet to be seen how many people there will turn out for the president and whether Mr Bakiyev will try to fight back with their support.

Kyrgyzstan is a strategically important Central Asian state and houses a Russian base and a key US military base that supplies forces in Afghanistan. The US has suspended military flights.

Ms Otunbayeva said these military bases could continue as before.

She is expected to address parliament later.

Domestic affair?

The United States said on Wednesday it deplored the violence and urged "respect for the rule of law".

Russian PM Vladimir Putin denied that Moscow had played any role in the unrest, saying it was a "domestic affair" and that there should be "restraint".

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the protests showed the "outrage at the existing regime".

A spokesman for Ban Ki-moon said the UN secretary general was "shocked by the reported deaths and injuries that have occurred" in Kyrgyzstan.

"He urgently appeals for dialogue and calm to avoid further bloodshed."

There was widespread looting and gunfire during the night in Bishkek.

The Kyrgyz health ministry said 40 people had died in the clashes and more than 400 were injured.

But the opposition said that figure was far too low. In a broadcast on a TV channel it took over, spokesman Omurbek Tekebayev said at least 100 demonstrators had been killed.

The Associated Press news agency reported that an opposition leader had taken over the National Security Agency, the successor to the Soviet KGB.

The Kyrgyz border control was quoted as saying that the frontier with Kazakhstan had been closed.

Curfews

Mr Bakiyev came to power amid a wave of street protests in 2005 known as the Tulip Revolution, but many of his allies have deserted him claiming intimidation and corruption.

The unrest broke out in the provincial town of Talas on Tuesday and spread to Bishkek and another town, Naryn, on Wednesday.

All three were put under curfew.

Interior Minister Moldomusa Kongatiyev, who was believed to have gone to Talas to calm the situation, was reportedly severely beaten.

Initial reports that he had been killed by a mob were later denied.

Police in Bishkek initially used tear gas and stun grenades to try to disperse protesters.

But the demonstrators overcame the police and marched to the presidential offices in the city centre.

Police cars were overturned and set alight and officers attacked by the crowd.

Are you in the area? Have you been affected by the events? If you have information you would like to share with the BBC, please contact us using the form below

Send your pictures to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to +44 7725 100 100 . If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.

In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below.