Kyrgyzstan's parliament on Saturday scrambled to restore order to a country gripped by anxiety after the overthrow of the president and said new presidential elections would be held June 26. Police said they had halted rampaging looters after two nights of violent upheaval in the capital.

But in a sign of continuing tension, acting leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev changed the location of his first news conference at the last minute, saying he had been threatened with assassination.

In Parliament, competing groups met in separate chambers, each claiming to represent the people.

President Askar Akayev, who disappeared Thursday after protesters stormed the presidential and government headquarters in a swelling protest demanding his resignation, had taken refuge in Russia, the Kremlin confirmed on Saturday.

While it is laudable for peoples power to assert itself, in the face of elections that are alleged to have been rigged, but the hand of Islamists behind the uprising needs to be under scrutiny. Both Washington and Moscow, need to be vigilant on this issue.