One Chinese citizen was killed and four others injured in an attack near the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, media reports said yesterday, citing China’s Foreign Ministry.
“On November 18, the camp of a private Chinese enterprise, located on the Tajik side in the border area between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, was attacked, resulting in the death of one Chinese citizen and injuries to four others,” a statement to AFP read, according to The Express Tribune.
“China strongly condemns the violent attack, expresses deep mourning over the victims, and expresses sincere condolences to the injured and the families of the victims,” it said.
A “working group” dispatched by China’s embassy in Dushanbe has arrived at the area of the attack to “express sympathy to the injured and coordinate the handling of subsequent matters”, the ministry added.
The motive and identity of the attacker or attackers was not clear from the statement, which also said the Chinese ambassador had urged the Tajik side to “get to the bottom of incident as soon as possible”.
Tajikistan shares a winding 1,350-kilometre border with Afghanistan and designates the Taliban – which retook control of the country in 2021 – a terrorist organization.
Chinese firms – especially companies involved in the extraction of raw minerals such as gold – have a strong presence in Central Asian countries, including Tajikistan.
“In view of the security situation in the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border area, we remind Chinese citizens and enterprises in the area to pay special attention to safety,” said the statement from China’s foreign ministry.
Meanwhile, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, citing two sources close to a Tajik investigation, reported on November 18 that one Chinese national was killed and five others, four of them Chinese and one local resident, were injured in a cross-border attack in Tajikistan's Zarbuzi Gorge.
The incident, which occurred in the southeastern Shamsiddin-Shohin district of Khatlon province, bordering Afghanistan, has not yet been officially addressed by the Tajik authorities.
According to the sources, the attack was carried out by armed individuals who crossed the border from Afghanistan. It remains unclear whether the attackers were criminals possibly involved in drug trafficking, a crime that is common in the area, or members of a militant group.
The Chinese nationals were reportedly working at a gold mine in the Zarbuzi Gorge. The attack marks the first known incident resulting in the death of a Chinese national in the volatile region.
The Shamsiddin-Shohin district shares a porous border with Afghanistan that is often crossed by smugglers and militant groups.
Although the Taliban has assured neighboring countries that Afghan territory will not serve as a base for terrorist activities, Tajik authorities have been on high alert in recent years.
