China lauds hard work of Kyrgyz government

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan - Deposed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev formally resigned in a hand-written letter faxed to Kyrgyzstan's new leaders, officials said on Friday, allaying fears of civil war in the strategic Central Asian country.

Bakiyev fled to neighboring Kazakhstan on Thursday, ending days of turmoil that disrupted US military flights through a Kyrgyz air base to operations in Afghanistan.

The crisis has underlined rivalries between the United States and Russia for influence in Central Asia, a vast region between China, Afghanistan and the Caspian Sea.