Violent fighting at the Kyrgyz-Tajik border for access to water

BISKEK, Kyrgyzstan – Soldiers from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan performed today heavy fighting on the border of these Central Asian countries, leaving at least three dead and 86 wounded, before agreeing to a ceasefire.

“As a result of negotiations between the ministries of foreign affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan, an agreement was reached for a complete ceasefire from 8:00 p.m. and the withdrawal of military forces,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A declaration.

The announcement came hours after an exchange of gunfire. around the Tajik enclave of Vorukh in Kyrgyzstan, an area of ​​tension linked to problems of access to water between these two former Soviet republics.

According to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health, 81 Kyrgyz citizens were injured in the fighting. Three others died, including a 12-year-old boy who died while being transported to hospital.

For its part, the Security Council of Tajikistan reported two gunshot wounds. But Russian news agency Ria Novosti, citing a source from the municipality of the border town of Isfara, reported that there were at least three dead and 31 injured of Tajik nationality.

Kyrgyz authorities noted that Thursday’s incidents erupted after the installation of the Tajik government security cameras on an electric pole near a water distribution point, which led to clashes between residents.

Between the two countries, there are large areas of land which They have not been demarcated since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. In addition, ethnic tensions have been accentuated by rivalries for access to water and land in these very poor regions.

In September 2019, several shootings resulted in the deaths of three Tajik border guards and one Kyrgyzstan. Tajik leader Emomali Rahmon met in July 2019 with then Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov and the two of them did a symbolic handshake in Isfara, Tajikistan.

But these negotiations on the “delimitation of national borders” and the “prevention and resolution of border conflicts” have not produced any results. In contrast, in June 2010, tensions between the Kyrgyz majority and the Uzbek minority in southern Kyrgyzstan led to inter-ethnic violence that left hundreds dead.

AFP and DPA agencies

THE NATION