Police open fire as protesters march on president's office

According to witnesses, between 3,000 and 5,000 protestors overturned and burned cars as they marched through the streets of Bishkek.

Security forces opened fire in repeated efforts to disperse the crowd, but were forced to retreat to the grounds of the president's offices as demonstrators tried to ram the gates with an armoured vehicle.

As the violence escalated, authorities said three opposition leaders had been arrested for perpetrating "serious crimes", including former prime minister and presidential candidate Almazbek Atambayev, former parliament speaker Omurbek Tekebayev and his aide Bolot Cherniazov.

Wednesday's rally came a day after more than a thousand opposition protesters burst through police lines and took control of government offices in the remote northwest town of Talas.

The main opposition group in Kyrgyzstan, the United Opposition Movement, has vowed to stage nationwide protests.

As well as the march in the capital, there were reports of mass rallies in the cities of Naryn (centre), Tokmak (north) and Osh (south) on Wednesday.

Russia and the United States, which maintains an air base in Kyrgyzstan used in the Nato campaign in nearby Afghanistan, have both voiced concern at the unrest.

Opposition leaders accuse President Bakiyev's government of human rights violations, repression and poor economic management that has recently resulted in sharply higher prices for basic goods and services.

Bakiyev's government vowed on Tuesday to "severely" crush the opposition protests.