An armed conflict on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border

This is a special program from the ’ANNA NEWS’, I am Constantine Reztsov.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Kyrgyzstan opened a criminal case under the article «Crime against the peace». The case was transferred to the Investigative Committee. An another armed conflict broke out on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. The reason of the conflict was the ’Golovnoy’ water station. The water station feeds the irrigation systems of 3 countries — Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan consider the water station to be their.

The locals threw stones at the Tajik specialists who tried to install CCTV cameras at the water station. After that, the Tajik border guards intervened in the conflict, who were then fired upon by the Kyrgyz border guards. This is the point of view of Dushanbe.

Bishkek believes that the shoot-out between the border guards started because of the shooting at the residents of Kyrgyzstan from the Tajik cars, passing along the border strip. During the shooting, both sides used small arms and mortars. During the talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries, Ruslan Kazakbaev and Siroddidzhin Mukhriddin, an agreement was reached on a ceasefire.

However, during the next night, skirmishes resumed. Both sides accused each other of violating the agreement.

The Kyrgyz mass media reported that after the evacuation of the locals from several villages, looting and arson began in the settlements. In the morning, the shooting stopped. As a result of the border conflict, 8 people were killed and about a 100 were wounded on the Tajik side. On the Kyrgyz side, 13 were killed, about 130 were wounded.

A conciliation commission began to work at the site of the conflict. It includes the heads of the border services of both countries, the head of the Batken region of Kyrgyzstan, and the head of the Sughd region of Tajikistan. The President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, announced that the hotbed of the conflict has been extinguished, but it can reignite. Currently the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan has been demarcated by only a little more than a half.

The ’ANNA NEWS’ follows the events. Stay tuned.