Kyrgyzstan's interim president said Friday that 2,000 people may have died in the ethnic clashes that have rocked the country's south – many times her government's official estimate – as she made her first visit to a riot-hit city since the unrest erupted.

The deaths have been due to rampages led mainly by ethnic Kyrgyz against Uzbeks.

The United Nations said that as many as 1 million people may eventually need aid in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, including the refugees, internally displaced, host families and others who may suffer from the unrest.