Activists reject Uzbek government's version of deadly protests

An Uzbek service member guards a road during a government-organised press visit in Nukus, capital of the northwestern Karakalpakstan region, Uzbekistan July 6, 2022. REUTERS/Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov

LONDON (Reuters) - A week after Uzbekistan's deadliest outbreak of violence in nearly 20 years, opposition politicians and human rights groups are challenging the government's narrative that protesters were high on drugs and incited by "foreign forces".

Authorities in the Central Asian state say 14 civilians and four law enforcement officers died during clashes that broke out in the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan in the northwest of the country.