Kyrgyz border guard killed in September clash on Kyrgyz-Tajik border has been awarded a medal posthumously and 2 million som (equivalent to 28,600 USD) have been allocated to his family.
Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov has handed “Erdik” (Courage) Medal to widow of border guard Ravshan Muminov who was killed in clash that broke out on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border in September this year, Kyrgyzstan’s KaktusMedia reported on December 23.
Besides, 2 million som (equivalent to 28,600 U.S. dollars) were allocated Muminov’s family (widow and three children) for the acquisition of housing.
Recall, a shoot-out broke out in the evening of September 16 following a dispute over construction at a non-demarcated section of the border and both sides blamed each other for starting the shooting.
The Border Guard Directorate of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) of Tajikistan stated that Kyrgyz border guards had begun shooting first. Kyrgyz border guards reportedly open fire at unarmed residents of the Bahor mahalla at 7:00 pm and several Tajik citizens were wounded.
According to Tajikistan’s border agency, the clash broke out following a dispute over construction by Kyrgyz citizens of unknown facilities in a sports ground in the Bahor mahalla of the Ovchi-Qala jamoat in the Bobojon-Ghafourov district of Tajikistan.
Kyrgyz border service, for its part, blamed Tajik border guards for starting the shooting.
According to Tajik authorities, three Tajik border guards — Lieutenant-Colonel Rustam Ubaidulloyev, private soldier Ramazon Islomov and private soldier Ghiyosiddin Suvanov — were killed in the shooting
Citing Kyrgyzstan’s border service, Kyrgyz media reports said that at least one Kyrgyz border guard had been killed and seven others had been wounded in the shooting.
Kyrgyz online news agency 24.kg said on September 16 that one border guard was killed and thirteen people, including seven border guards and six civilians, were wounded.
Meanwhile, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, citing Tajik local officials, said that twelve citizens of Tajikistan had been hospitalized.
The clash reportedly stopped at 9:30 pm and officials have taken measures to prevent further escalation.
