These two Central Asian countries were involved in clashes that left more than 30 injured on Friday.
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Kyrgyzstan has announced that it has succeeded in “a ceasefire agreement” with Tajikistan on Friday, September 16, after clashes on the border between these two Central Asian countries which left more than 30 injured. This suspension of hostilities was to begin at noon (Paris time). Earlier, Russia called on both sides to take action “urgent” to end tensions in the region.
Clashes between the two countries earlier this week left two Tajik border guards dead and several injured on both sides. On Friday, Kyrgyzstan accused Tajikistan of shelling a border town with heavy weapons. The Kyrgyz Ministry of Health announced that 31 people had been hospitalized.
The State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan reported that “intense clashes” and “violent” were taking place in the border area, accusing Tajikistan of “bombard Kyrgyz territory with all its available arsenal” and continue to deploy “heavy equipment”.
A scene of regular clashes
Tajikistan, for its part, accused Kyrgyz forces of having opened fire early Friday on Tajik border posts, without immediately reporting casualties in its ranks.
The border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan is the scene of regular deadly clashes. Nearly half of the 970 km border is disputed and progress in terms of demarcation has been slow in recent years. The year 2021 has seen an unprecedented number of clashes between the two sides, leaving more than 50 dead and raising fears of the widening of the conflict.