Death toll rises to 24 on Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan boarder fighting

• Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan accuse each other of resuming fighting in disputed area.
• Kyrgyz border service says its forces are still repelling Tajik attacks.
• Fighting reported in Batken province, which borders northern Sughd region and contains a Tajik exclave.

Kyrgyzstan reported “intense battles” with Central Asian neighbour Tajikistan, with 24 people killed in the latest outbreak of violence in the former Soviet Union,On Friday.

Despite a ceasefire agreement, both of the small impoverished landlocked nations have accused each other of resuming fighting in a disputed area.

The Kyrgyz border service said in a statement that its forces were still repelling Tajik attacks.

“From the Tajik side, shelling of the positions of the Kyrgyz side continues, and in some areas intense battles are going on,” it said.

According to Russia’s Interfax news agency, the Kyrgyz health ministry later stated that 24 citizens were killed and 87 were injured. It was not stated how many of the victims were military personnel.

According to Russia’s RIA news agency, Kamchybek Tashiev, the head of the Kyrgyz state committee on national security, military casualties were high.

“The situation is difficult and as for what will happen tomorrow — no one can give any guarantees,” he said.

According to Interfax, the Kyrgyz ministry of emergency situations, more than 136,000 civilians have been evacuated from the conflict zone.

Earlier in the day, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Tajik counterpart Emomali Rakhmon agreed at a regional summit in Uzbekistan to order a ceasefire and troop withdrawal, according to Japarov’s office.

Fighting was reported in Kyrgyzstan’s southern Batken province, which borders Tajikistan’s northern Sughd region and contains a Tajik exclave, Vorukh. The same region is known for its jigsaw-puzzle political and ethnic geography, and it was the site of similar hostilities last year, which almost led to war.

Clashes over the ill-defined border are common, but they usually de-escalate quickly.

Also Read

Border guards from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan start their battle

There is a dispute over the boundary between the two Central Asian...