Border officials for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have discussed the latest developments along the disputed segments of the common border between the two nations amid a fresh rise in tensions over the weekend.
Radio Liberty’s Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Azattyk, says a statement released by Kyrgyzstan's State Border Service on August 23, in particular, notes that the talks were held in the Batken region, where unknown individuals hurled rocks at two Kyrgyz private cars after reports that the Tajik side had started construction work at the Golovnoi water intake facility, which is located on disputed territory.
The Kyrgyz State Border Service statement said the construction was halted after the talks.
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have not yet resolved the border delineation problem. Many border areas in Central Asia have been disputed since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the Fergana Valley, where the borders of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan meet.
The border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has been the scene of unrest repeatedly since the collapse of the former Soviet Union.
Border talks between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan began in 2002. The countries share 976 kilometers of border – of which some 520 kilometers has reportedly been properly delineated, leading to tensions for the past 30 years.
The latest clash along Tajikistan’s common border with Kyrgyzstan that took place in late April this year was the bloodiest one in the region over the past 20 years. The countries have agreed a complete ceasefire after the worst violence in decades along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border that killed 55 people and wounded more than 300 other people.
The clash has reportedly brought mutual hostility from the previous local level to a national scale in both countries.
In May, Kyrgyzstan unilaterally banned passage of Tajik nationals and transport through its territory.
