Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
Dead in fighting in Central Asia – 120,000 people evacuated
Police officers push back Kyrgyz volunteers who are gathering in front of the government building demanding their deployment to the conflict zone on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. photo
© Vladimir Voronin/AP/dpa
The border dispute between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has been going on for more than 30 years. Again and again there are heavy fights. Now the situation is getting worse again.
The heavy fighting in the border dispute between the two ex-Soviet republics of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in Central Asia is coming to a head. On the Kyrgyz side, there are fatalities among both soldiers and civilians, the National Security Council in Bishkek said on Friday. Citing unspecified sources, 17 were said to have died. Later in the evening, the Kyrgyz Parliament wanted to meet for an emergency session. It cannot be ruled out that the country will declare a state of war, said Deputy Dastan Bekeshev.
According to the authorities, around 120,000 people were brought to safety from the Kyrgyz region of Batken near the border. Both the authoritarian Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which despite setbacks is considered comparatively democratic, reported ongoing fighting. Both sides blame each other for the escalation. On the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Uzbekistan, also in Central Asia, the presidents of the two high-mountain countries met for talks.
Border dispute for over 30 years
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than 30 years ago, the two countries have been at odds at numerous points over the course of the approximately 1,000-kilometer border.
Conflicts that have been smoldering for years have also recently escalated in other regions of the post-Soviet space. A few days ago, for example, Azerbaijan attacked its neighbor Armenia in the South Caucasus. Observers fear that such tensions will increase because Russia, which actually has a strong military presence in the entire region, is currently engaged in the war against Ukraine.