Kyrgyz, Tajik leaders step in to save ceasefire after border clashes leave 33 dead
- The talks between Sadyr Japarov and Emomali Rahmon came after the worst border clashes between the ex-Soviet countries killed dozens
- Kyrgyzstan’s national security committee said that Tajikistan was breaking the truce by bringing its forces closer to the frontier
The talks came after Kyrgyzstan accused Tajikistan of violating the truce, but the press services of Kyrgyzstan’s leader Sadyr Japarov and Tajikistan’s Emomali Rahmon said they discussed fulfilling the agreement reached on Thursday, when the fighting erupted.
Clashes between communities over land and water along the long-contested border are regular occurrences, with border guards often getting involved, however this week’s violence was by far the most serious during the Central Asian pair’s 30 years of independence.
Kyrgyzstan on Saturday announced two days of mourning and said that its death toll had risen from 31 to 33, with over a hundred other Kyrgyz injured and at least 30 properties destroyed in its southwestern Batken region.
Despite the ceasefire, Kyrgyzstan’s national security committee said that Tajikistan’s military had “opened fire on dwellings” in Batken’s Leilik district on Saturday.
The security committee in a separate statement said that Tajikistan was breaking the ceasefire by bringing its forces closer to the border and periodically firing at cars travelling along a road running through the disputed territory.