Relatives of people wounded in the riots in the eastern Uzbekistan town of Andijan, crowd against the gates of the city hospital

Uzbekistan's government has taken a group of foreign diplomats and journalists on a tour of Andijan, the site of deadly clashes between security forces and anti-government demonstrators last week.

Government officials accompanied the foreigners, who were not allowed to roam freely, and introduced them to residents who backed the official version of events.

Uzbekistan's government maintains that rebels - not security forces - fired on demonstrators, killing 169 people, including 32 government troops, but an opposition group says it has compiled a list of 745 dead.

In Geneva Wednesday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour called for an independent probe into the events in Andijan.

Many countries, including the United States, have expressed concern at the heavy-handed crackdown against protesters.

Some information for this report provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.