Gun fight erupts in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan border

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan: Kyrgyzstan accused Central Asian rival Tajikistan of firing on its troops and deploying forces at their contested border on Thursday (Friday in Manila) in the bloodiest escalation since clashes that killed dozens last year.

Kyrgyzstan’s national security committee said Tajikistan’s military was “using mortars and grenade launchers” in the exchanges that the committee said began just after 7:30 p.m. Kyrgyzstan time (1330 GMT).

A health ministry spokesman said that four Kyrgyz soldiers had suffered shrapnel wounds, while media in Tajikistan said the clashes resulted in a fatality.

Clashes between Kyrgyz and Tajik communities over land and water supplies along the pair’s long-contested border are regular occurrences, with border guards often involved.

The area surrounding Tajikistan’s

Vorukh, an enclave surrounded by Kyrgyz territory, is a key flashpoint.

But last year’s shooting between the two militaries was unprecedented, leaving more than 50 people dead and raising fears of a wider conflict.

The latest violence came after Tajik citizens blocked a road linking two Kyrgyz cities that passes through Tajik territory, Kyrgyzstan’s state committee for national security said.

Although the border services of the two countries negotiated the road’s reopening, fighting broke out almost immediately afterwards, it added.

Tajikistan, a closed authoritarian country, did not immediately comment on the situation and generally releases few statements during conflicts at the 970-kilometer-long border (600 miles), almost half of which is disputed.

But Tajik news site Asia-Plus confirmed the clashes and reported one civilian was killed, and eleven people injured — three civilians and eight officers.

The fatality, a villager, was killed when “a projectile fired by the Kyrgyz side” hit his home, AsiaPlus wrote.

The Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) — a military alliance of which Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are members — said Thursday its Secretary General Stanislav Zas held talks with military officials from both sides in an effort to halt the conflict.

‘Complex border issue’

“The renewed clashes on the border, as a result of which there are wounded, cause serious concern. Armed confrontation on the TajikKyrgyz border must be stopped immediately,” Zas said, according to a CSTO statement.

“The organization is ready to provide “the necessary assistance in resolving the conflict,” he added.

“I am confident that the leadership of both CSTO member states will find mutually acceptable ways to resolve this complex border issue.”

But Kyrgyzstan’s national security committee said late on Thursday that two rounds of telephone talks had yet to produce a ceasefire as of 11:00 p.m. (1700 GMT).

“Moreover, [Tajikistan] continues to push heavy military equipment and personnel towards the border,” said the statement that cited Kyrgyzstan’s border service head Ularbek Sharsheyev.

Media in both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan reported that women and children in villages close to the site of the conflict evacuated after shooting started.