BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Officials in Kyrgystan and Tajikistan sought to ease
tensions on Friday after major clashes between the ex-Soviet neighbors in
Central Asia left dozens dead and thousands displaced in Kyrgyzstan.
اضافة اعلان
Clashes between communities over land and water along the pair's
long-contested border are regular occurrences, with border guards often getting
involved.
But the shooting that broke out Thursday between the two militaries was the
heaviest fighting in years and raised fears that it might escalate into a wider
conflict.
For the moment, high-level contacts between the two impoverished,
mountainous countries have continued, offering hope that the conflict — which
began after communities clashed over an important piece of river infrastructure
— can be cooled.
Kyrgyzstan's national security chief Kamchibek Tashiyev told journalists
that he had met with Tajik counterpart Saimumin Yatimov on "neutral
territory" at the border on Friday.
Tashiyev pledged that problems over their shared border will be resolved
"in the next few days".
Tajikistan did not immediately release a statement on the meeting.
Kyrgyzstan said said Friday that its death toll in armed clashes with Central Asian rival Tajikistan had reached 31 after the pair agreed a ceasefire.
First Deputy Minister of Health and Social Development Aliza Soltonbekova said in a televised appearance that Kyrgyzstan had suffered over 150 casualties including 31 deaths since the violence began on Thursday.
Local authorities in Kyrgyzstan's southwestern Batken region said that
shooting along the shared border was still happening "periodically"
despite a ceasefire agreed on Thursday evening.
Military representatives of the two countries did not immediately confirm
the claims.
Over 10,000 Kyrgyz citizens have been evacuated from two districts bordering
Tajikistan where the fighting had been most intense, according to Kyrgyz
authorities.
More than a third of the two countries' border is disputed, with the area
surrounding the Tajik enclave of Vorukh, where Thursday's conflict erupted, a
regular flashpoint over territorial claims and access to water.
On Friday, neighboring Uzbekistan's leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev's office said
he had held separate talks by telephone with Tajik leader Emomali Rakhmon and
Kyrgyz president Sadyr Japarov.
During the phone calls "it was stated that all issues raised by the
sides should be decided on the basis of dialogue in the spirit of relations of
centuries-old friendship," Mirziyoyev's office said.
Properties torched
Tajikistan, a closed authoritarian state, has so far acknowledged no
casualties or damages from the clashes.
Kyrgyzstan, in contrast, published a detailed list of properties in its
Batken region that had been damaged.
Among the properties burned down during the violence were a border post,
more than 20 homes, a school, eight shops, and a casino, according to the
emergencies ministry.
Thousands of people evacuated from villages at the center of the conflict
have been "placed in specially organized points" in Batken's
administrative center "or went to visit relatives", according to
authorities in the Batken region.
Military units from the two countries began exchanging fire on Thursday, but
later that day agreed a ceasefire following talks at several different levels
of government.
Tajikistan's national security committee had said earlier on Thursday that
two citizens had been admitted to hospital, with one in serious condition.
Its security committee accused Kyrgyz soldiers of opening fire on Tajik
troops at the Golovnaya water distribution point, located on the Isfara River,
on Thursday.
It said Kyrgyz and Tajik civilians had become embroiled in a dispute over
the vital piece of river infrastructure on Wednesday.
Border disagreements between the three countries that share the fertile
Fergana Valley — Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan — stem from
demarcations made during the Soviet era.
The knotting, twisting frontiers left several communities with restricted access
to their home countries.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Russia, a strategic ally to
both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, was "deeply concerned" by the clashes
but welcomed increasing contacts between the neighboring countries.
He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "always ready"
to play a "mediating role".
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