The death toll from the unrest in Kyrgyzstan has reached 68, with 400 others wounded, the country's Health Ministry said Thursday.

A protestor throws stones outside the presidential office in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, April 7, 2010. [Sadat/Xinhua]

The nationwide protests in Kyrgyzstan scored a preliminary victory on Wednesday after thousands of protesters seized the presidential palace, forcing President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to leave the capital city.

Bakiyev, who was accompanied by the country's defense minister, has arrived in the southern city of Osh, where he stays in a presidential residence.

After midnight Wednesday, the situation in Bishkek seemed to have calmed down a little and the protesters began to disperse, as witnessed by Xinhua reporters.