ALMA ATA, March 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Kyrgyz police dispersed a protesting crowd and arrested about 20 protesters Wednesday when the opposition demanding the president's resignation rallied in the capital, Bishkek, reports reaching here said.

Policemen detain a protester in the centre of Kyrgyz capital Bishkek March 23. (Reuters)

    About 300 people took part in the rally to demand President Askar Akayev step down and a rerun of the disputed parliamentary elections in February and early March.

    The protesters had tried to break into the presidential building and other government buildings, but were stopped by riot police.

    Riot police encircled the protesters and scuffled with those resisted. They dragged some protesters away and detained about 20 of them, the reports said.

    Meanwhile, thousands of people from the student unions and other non-government groups rallied in the capital on Tuesday to denounce the unrest provoked by the opposition in the south and called for order in the country.

    In his first public comments after taking office, newly-installed Interior Minister Keneshbek Dushebayev told a press conference Wednesday that security forces were ready to get tough.

    "The law gives us all rights needed to restore the constitutional order," he said. "We can use force ... and weapons. (But) we are not going to shoot at law-abiding citizens, women, old people and children."

    The minister also vowed to launch a probe into the southern unrest and bring those responsible to justice.

    The Interior Ministry has set up a special team to investigate into the attacks on administrative buildings in the south and those responsible will be punished according to law, he said. Enditem