Kyrgyz media reports say at least 29 people turned to ambulance teams for medical help on the night of May 17-18 in Bishkek.  Of them, 15 people were reportedly taken to the City Emergency Hospital and the National Hospital, the rest were provided with medical aid at the spot, the press service of the Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan was cited as reporting.  

Kyrgyzstan’s news agency 24.kg reports that a mass brawl involving foreigners took place in Bishkek on May 13. The incident occurred in the courtyard of one of the hostels where foreigners live.  They reportedly beat up several local residents.

A criminal case was initiated under the article «Hooliganism» and three foreign citizens were detained.

About 300 young guys reportedly gathered Friday night at the intersection of 7 April and Ogonbayev streets, who wanted pick a fight with the foreigners.  The police set up cordons and attempted to prevent unrest.  Some participants of the spontaneous rally were detained.

Meanwhile, some media reported on May 17 that groups of assailants have broken into foreign students' housing.

The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry said in a statement on May 18 that the violence was triggered by the appearance on social media of a video purportedly showing a group of "persons of Asian appearance" harassing foreign students on the night of May 13 and then pursuing them to their dormitory, where at least one foreign student was assaulted by several men and dragged on the floor.     

Amateur footage filmed on the night of May 17-18 and verified by RFE/RL reportedly shows crowds outside hostels accommodating foreigners, assailants breaking into rooms and beating people, and the damaged interior of Pakistani students' rooms.  The mob was incited by a video purportedly showing a fight between Kyrgyz and Egyptian students.

Pakistan is evacuates students following Bishkek attacks on Foreigners.  Radio Liberty reports that about 140 students and 40 other Pakistanis flew out of Bishkek late on May 18. The students were reportedly received by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi at Lahore International Airport. 

Sajjad Ahmad, head of the VIP Hostel, told Radio Liberty that an estimated 500 people live at the hostel, and all of them are expected to leave. 

Meanwhile, the Kyrgyz authorities said on May 18 that four foreign nationals born between 1993 and 2003 were arrested following the violence.  They were reportedly placed in a temporary detention facility as part of a criminal case for hooliganism without stating their nationalities or the circumstances of their arrests.

Those found guilty will be punished, the Kyrgyz government said in a statement, rejecting what it said were “insinuations aimed at inciting intolerance toward foreign students.”  But it appeared to lay the blame for the violence on illegal migrants, saying authorities had been taking “decisive measures to suppress illegal migration and expel undesirable persons from Kyrgyzstan.”