Kyrgyzstan ? Kyrgyzstan’s deposed president on Sunday defended the legitimacy of his rule and urged the United Nations to send peacekeepers to help stabilize the strategically vital Central Asian nation.

President Kurmanbek Bakiyev told The Associated Press in an interview at his home village in the south of the country that he had not ordered police to fire at protesters in the capital.

“My conscience is clear,” he said.

Bakiyev fled the capital, Bishkek, on Wednesday after a protest rally against corruption, rising utility bills and deteriorating human rights exploded into police gunfire and chaos that left at least 81 people dead and sparked protesters to storm the government headquarters.