Mine protesters try to storm parliament

Police used dogs and smoke bombs to disperse protesters who attempted to scale the gates.

The Health Ministry said that 10 people were being treated for injuries, three of them for gunshot wounds.

Officials said no police officers had been injured.

Around 1,000 people had gathered in Bishkek city centre for a rally to demand the nationalisation of the controversial Kumtor mine, which has been the source of a series of toxic spills.

Kyrgyzstan is governed by a coalition presided over by Prime Minister Zhantoro Satybaldiyev and opposition groups are focusing on the controversy over the mine.

The rally had been organised by nationalist politicians Sapar Zhaparov and Kamchibek Tashiyev, who was detained for scaling the fence.

Their party Ata-Zhurt is the largest in the republic's parliament, but is not in the governing coalition.

Prosecutors said last month that they are pursuing criminal charges against Mr Zhaparov on suspicion of fraud.

But Mr Zhaparov denied he has been involved in any financial wrongdoing and insisted that the investigations were politically motivated.

Toronto-based Centerra Gold, which is developing Kumtor, has been accused of using accounting tricks to reduce its tax liabilities to the nation.

The company has denied the allegation.

Centerra claims the project has generated £1.2 billion for Kyrgyzstan, including £385 million in taxes.

The mine accounts for 12 per cent of the nation's GDP.