A source at Tajikistan’s power-wielding structures says the Tajik authorities will not send additional forces to the Afghan border following the recent clashes between Tajik border guards and armed Afghan drug traffickers.
“The Khatlon garrison, which is deployed not far from the Afghan border, has enough forces and means to localize such incidents and annihilate armed trespassers,” the source said.
He also denied rumors that Tajik law enforcement authorities had allegedly begun hunting Afghan nationals in Dushanbe and other large cities of the country after the recent border shootout as absolutely ‘baseless.’
“Like citizens of any other country, Afghan nationals who stay in Tajikistan legally have nothing to fear,” the source added.
Recall, one Tajik border guard was killed and four others were wounded in clashes with armed Afghan drug traffickers attempting to illegally cross the border river in the Tajik southern Khatlon province late Saturday.
A statement released by the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) says the incident took place on December 2 at 7:10 pm in the Shamsiddin-Shohin district, some 220 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe, in the area patrolled by the “Bahorak” frontier post of the “Shouroobod” border unit.
Commander of the border unit, Colonel Khairiddin Akhtamov, and three trespassers were killed and four Tajik border guards were wounded in the shootout.
The wounded border guards are currently undergoing medical treatment in a hospital. Their health conditions are assessed as satisfactory
Tajik border guards reportedly found 4 Kalashnikov assault rifles and more than 33 kilograms of narcotics on the spot.
The Tajik side has sent a note to the Afghan authorities demanding relevant Afghan structures thoroughly investigate the incident and take measures to detain the criminals.
The Tajik authorities also hope that the Afghan side will take all necessary measures to strengthen control of the border on its territory in order to prevent such incidents in the future.
Tajikistan has a 1,344-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, which is the world's largest producer of opium and heroin.
Clashes on the border between Tajik border guards and Afghan drug smugglers are common as are kidnappings of Tajiks by Afghan smugglers who then swap them for arrested traffickers.
