The Government of Kyrgyzstan has resigned after a special commission's report blamed officials for the deaths of five demonstrators shot by police in March.

President Akayev: Cracking down on dissent

The five were shot in the southern Dzhalalabad region during protests over the arrest of local opposition politician Azimbek Beknazarov, the region's parliamentary deputy.

Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiyev offered his resignation on Wednesday, and the whole cabinet stepped down with him, as required by Kyrgyz law.

President Askar Akayev had accepted on Monday that the authorities were to blame for the deaths.

Report findings

The official report found several presidential and local officials, and secret police, guilty of unlawful detentions and the illegal use of firearms during the protest.

There have been subsequent demonstrations in the capital, Bishkek and a blockade of the country's main north-south road, in support of Mr Beknazarov, who had been accused of abusing his powers.

Mr Beknazarov's supporters say the charges against him are politically motivated.

The protesters have also been demanding the cancellation of a deal to transfer disputed territory to neighbouring China - a treaty Mr Beknazarov had opposed - and for President Akayev to resign.

President Akayev was hailed by Western governments in the early 1990s as a reformer, but he has increasingly cracked down on dissent in recent years.

This year's protests have been the first major public display of discontent with his rule.