The Kyrgyz presidential press service has refuted media reports claiming that a group of protesters have taken First Deputy Prime Minister Medetbek Kerimkulov and the governmental executive office\'s deputy chief Urmat Karmyshev hostage in Dzhalal-Abad in the south of the country on Thursday. \"These reports are not true,\" the president\'s spokesman Dosoly Esenaliyev told Interfax. \"Several dozen people gathered outside the city administration headquarters in Dzhalal-Abad demanding an explanation for the replacement of the governor. Kerimkulov, who came to Dzhalal-Abad to attend a session of the region\'s panel on January 19, said that under the president\'s decree, Iskender Aidaraliyev had been appointed acting governor as part of a rotation agreement. Nobody has been taken hostage,\" he said. \"Presidential chief-of-staff Usen Sadykov is currently visiting the city to explain the reason behind the replacement of the governor to the local population,\" Esenaliyev said. According to media reports, up to 100 supporters of the region\'s former governor Zhusup Zheenbekov have demanded that Aidaraliyev \"vacate his office.\"(Interfax)