The Red Cross has issued an urgent appeal for donations to fund aid shipments to the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border, warning of a “humanitarian catastrophe” after days of sustained ethnic violence. Reports from Kyrgyzstan say tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbeks have fled the country since violence flared last Thursday. Meanwhile, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights has deplored the violence. “It seems indiscriminate killings, including of children, and rapes have been taking place on the basis of ethnicity,” said Navi Pillay. She urged Kyrgyz authorities to take “swift and decisive action” to protect people irrespective of their ethnic origin. --SPA 11:09 LOCAL TIME 08:09 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/792976