Citing Kyrgyz border service, Kyrgyz media outlets report a conflict with the use of weapons has occurred between Kyrgyz and Tajik border guards in the border area between Kyrgyzstan’s Leilek district (Batken region) and Tajikistan’s Jabbor-Rasoulov district (Sughd province).
Kyrgyz AKIPress reports the incident took place in the "Football field" area in Maksat area, Leilek district of Batken region on June 4, at 5:10 pm.
Tajik border guards reportedly violated a special line of conduct of border guards at the border. Tajik border guards kicked Kyrgyz nationals out the “Football field” area, where the latter organized spontaneous trade.
Kyrgyz 24.kg, citing Kyrgyz border service, says that when Tajik border guards were told that they were illegally staying in in border area that has not yet been demarcated, the Tajik border guards reportedly behaved aggressively, provoking conflict.
The Tajik border guards refused to elave the area and made several warning shots into the air, after which they wer detained by Kyrgyz border guards, the statement by Kyrgyz border service said.
Border representatives of Tajikistan for Jabbor-Rasoulov district and border representatives of Kyrgyzstan for Leilek district reportedly had an immediate meeting to discuss the situation.
The Kyrgyz border service’s public relations and mass media department reports that the Tajik border guards were released after the talks.
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have been unable to agree on the location of the border they inherited when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. As the population in the dense Ferghana Valley grows, it has become increasingly difficult to demarcate the contested sections, where valuable agricultural land often lies.
The area at the focus of unrest among residents of border areas of the two countries lies on the jagged frontier where the east of Tajikistan’s Sughd province and Kyrgyzstan’s Batken region meet.
Skirmishes have sparked between residents of Isfara (Tajikistan) and Batken (Kyrgyzstan) districts along the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border.
The latest serious skirmishes sparked by a territorial dispute between residents along the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border escalated on August 4, 2015, leaving several people injured and damaging multiple homes.
