2 yıl önce

Death toll rises in Kyrgyz-Tajik border clashes

Kyrgyzstan reports 59 people deaths in the southern border region of Batken, with Tajikistan says 35 people have been killed.

AP

Clashes regularly erupt between the two former Soviet republics, as around half of their 970-kilometre (600-mile) border is still to be demarcated.

At least 94 people have been killed in clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan this week, in the worst violence the countries have seen in years, while the international community called for calm.

The situation on the contested border between the two Central Asian neighbours was, however, calm on Sunday, according to Kyrgyz authorities.

Tajikistan said on Sunday that 35 of its citizens were killed, the first official death toll since armed clashes broke out on Wednesday.

On its Facebook page, the Tajik foreign ministry also reported 25 injured and said civilians were among the victims.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan said on Sunday that 59 people had died in the southern border region of Batken, and 144 had been injured. The country's emergency situations minister added that four Kyrgyz soldiers were reported missing.

Kyrgyzstan also declared September 19 a national day of mourning.

'Lasting ceasefire'

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from Kyrgyz border regions over the past days, according to NGOs.

The death toll by far surpasses figures from April 2021, when clashes left 50 dead and raised fears of a large-scale conflict.

The two sides agreed to a ceasefire on Friday and Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon met his Kyrgyz counterpart Sadyr Japarov at a summit in Uzbekistan.

But the two countries traded blame for ceasefire violations only a few hours later.

On Saturday, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres had called on the leadership of both sides "to engage in dialogue for a lasting ceasefire", said a spokesperson.

SOURCE: AFP