According to Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirsiyoyev, the public protests in the province of Karakalpakstan have resulted in casualties among the civilian population and the security forces.
Rioters carried out "destructive actions" in the city of Nukus, throwing stones, setting fires and attacking the police, according to a statement by Mirsiyoyev published on Sunday.
“There were attacks on state buildings and objects under surveillance.
Unfortunately, there are victims among the civilian population and among the officials of the security organs,” said Mirsiyoyev.
Mirsijiojew did not give an exact number of victims.
The Russian-language Telegram channel Good Central Asia reported hundreds of dead and injured.
However, there was initially no confirmation of this.
The region has been in a state of emergency for a month since Saturday.
There has been unrest in Karakalpakstan since Friday because the sovereignty of the autonomous republic is no longer explicitly mentioned in the new Uzbek constitution.
Only about two million of the country's 35 million inhabitants live in the region in western Uzbekistan on the Aral Sea.
With 164,000 square kilometers (twice the size of Austria), the republic occupies almost 40 percent of the country's area.
The republic has its own parliament.
Karakalpak is an official language alongside Uzbek.
Otherwise, the autonomy rights are limited.
nile/dpa