Clashes on Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan border: At least 94 dead

At least 94 people have been killed this week in border clashes between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstanthe two sides announced today the worst violence that has occurred in years between these countries, which concluded a fragile truce.

The situation on the disputed border of the two former Soviet Central Asian republics was calm this evening, according to Bishkek, after the emergency signing of a ceasefire on Friday.

Tajik diplomacy published today via Facebook a first detailed account from its side, claiming 35 dead and 25 wounded during the fighting that took place from Wednesday to Friday and claiming that most of the dead were civilians.

This source assures that the Kyrgyz army killed twelve people with a drone strike on a mosque, six others with another drone attack on a school and seven others with fire on an ambulance.

AFP was unable to independently confirm these statements in a country that is authoritarian and very closed to the press.

For its part, in its latest report, the Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan reported that 59 Kyrgyz were killed in the Batken district, which is located in southwestern Kyrgyzstan and borders Tajikistan.

Bishkek also announced that 144 people had been injured, and Emergency Situations Minister Bubek Ajikib said today that the fate of four Kyrgyz soldiers was unknown.

The president of Kyrgyzstan, Sadir Japarov, has declared tomorrow a day of national mourning.

The fighting toll now far exceeds that of previous widespread border fighting in April 2021, which had killed around 50 people and sparked fears of an escalation of the conflict.

During his phone calls today, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the presidents of Kyrgyzstan Sadir Japarov and Tajikistan Imomali Rahmon to avoid new conflicts in these countries, where Moscow has historically played the role of arbiter.

RES-EMP

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