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In the early morning hours of May 13, 2005, gunmen attacked several government buildings in the city of Andijan, in eastern Uzbekistan, broke into the city prison to release 23 men who faced charges of religious extremism, and mobilized people to attend a protest on the city's main square. Later that day, thousands of unarmed protesters gathered on the main square of their own will to vent grievances about poverty and government repression. At around 5:00 p.m., when Uzbek government forces sealed off the square, the protesters fled north on Cholpon Prospect, where they were ambushed by government forces. Hundreds of people were killed.