Eyewitnesses told RFE/RL the incident started on February 14 when a group consisting of members of the district administration, prosecutors, and interior ministry officials came to the village of Xalqobod in the Altynsai district of Surkhondaryo region.
Certain residents were told their homes were built illegally on territory designated as farmland after which an angry crowd began to gather at a local farming homestead.
When the police tried to calm and reason with the local residents after telling them their homes would be torn down, some angry villagers attacked the officers with sticks, axes, and shovels, according to the news service of the regional police.
Video posted on social media of the incident showed what appeared to be police hitting unarmed residents and dragging them on the ground, and one person bleeding from the face.
The conflict subsided at around 4 p.m. local time after a special police unit arrived on the scene and told the residents to disperse and retreat to their homes.
Six residents were arrested and one villager was slightly injured, as well as two police officers.
No homes were demolished.
In a February 16 statement, the Prosecutor-General’s Office lay the blame of the incident on families who opposed the demolition of the “illegally-built homes.”
Six local residents allegedly have occupied 0.39 hectares of irrigated, agricultural land and built brick homes encompassing an area of 235.5 square meters, the statement said.
They were given notice to demolish their homes within two days from February 8.
Police didn’t provide an update on the fate of the six arrested individuals.