Osh , Kyrgyzstan ( CNN ) -- The flow of refugees fleeing southern Kyrgyzstan has gone from a flood to a trickle , the Uzbekistan Foreign Ministry said . Uzbekistan authorities said even though the flow of people had slowed down they were still dealing with an estimated 120,000 refugees . Aid workers were calling the fallout from ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan a humanitarian crisis . No one from Kyrgyzstan 's interim government had made official contact with them since refugees flooded into their country , the Uzbekistan Foreign Ministry said . Foreign Ministry officials said they were surprised and concerned that they have not had official contact with their neighbor during this crisis . The violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks had calmed down earlier this week after more than 170 people were killed and more than 1,400 were wounded . But gunfire was heard Thursday from the center of Osh , Kyrgyzstan , a sign that the violent ethnic clashes may be intensifying again . Gunfire in the hard-hit city had been heard only at night . Thursday was the first time CNN producers on the scene have heard daytime gunfights . The clashes , which started last week , were part of the most serious outbreak of ethnic violence in the former Soviet republic since 1990 , when hundreds of people died in skirmishes between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in Osh . U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Uzbekistan 's President Islam Karimov from London on Wednesday , thanking Karimov for his help with the humanitarian situation , according to a statement from Ban 's office . The secretary-general promised assistance to affected people in southern Kyrgyzstan and those seeking refuge in Uzbekistan , and said he intended to consult with key members of the U.N. Security Council upon his return to New York later Wednesday . One U.N. plane , loaded with tons of tents , landed in the area Wednesday and others were on the way . Several countries , including the United States , Germany and Russia , have also sent aid . The International Committee of the Red Cross said along with refugees there was an estimated 60,000 internally displaced people in Kyrgyzstan . Francois Blancy , deputy head of the Red Cross regional office in Uzbekistan , said more aid is needed . `` We are now at the peak of the humanitarian crisis , '' Blancy said . CNN 's Matthew Chance and Nic Robertson contributed to this report .
NEW : More gunfire heard in Osh . Uzbekistan concerned that it has had no official contact with Kyrgyzstan . Red Cross estimates that there are also 60,000 internally displaced people .