Kyrgyzstan's ousted leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev has insisted he is still president and urged the world to shun the interim rulers struggling to restore order.
The new leadership dismissed his statement, saying Mr Bakiyev had signed and sealed his own resignation.
And Mr Bakiyev’s bid to regain control suffered another setback following the opposition’s statement a number of his followers were arrested.
The followers, who included self-proclaimed governor Faizulla Rakhmanov, had seized control in Mr Bakiyev’s southern stronghold of Jalalabad last week.
But prior to the arrests Mr Bakiyev had struck a defiant tone.
‘I will do everything to restore constitutional order to Kyrgyzstan,’ he said in the Belarussian capital Minsk, where he has sought refuge after the 7 April revolt against his five-year rule.
‘I don't recognise my resignation...only death can stop me.
‘I call on international leaders not to recognise the authority of this illegitimate gang,’ Mr Bakiyev said.
Kyrgyzstan's interim government said last week Mr Bakiyev had resigned and produced a hand-written letter that it said the president faxed from Kazakhstan, where he initially found safe haven.
It then produced the original, delivered by Kazakhstan's ambassador to Bishkek.
The interim Kyrgyz government says it will pursue swift reforms and hold parliamentary and presidential elections within six months.
Today, it said it had asked the US for $10m to help conduct the polls.
