MINSK/BISHKEK - Kyrgyzstan's ousted leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev said on Wednesday he was still president and urged the world to shun the interim rulers struggling to restore order after an April 7 uprising.

The new leadership dismissed his statement, saying Bakiyev had signed and sealed his own resignation.

Minutes later, authorities announced the arrest of a number of Bakiyev loyalists who last week seized control in his southern stronghold of Jalalabad, including self-proclaimed governor Faizulla Rakhmanov.