DUSHANBE, July 7, 2015, Asia-Plus — One Tajik national was killed and one another was wounded yesterday evening after Kyrgyz border guards opened fire at a group of Tajik nationals who were crossing into Kyrgyz territory via disputable stretch of mutual border.
A source in the Tajik government says that according to witnesses Kyrgyz border guards did not allow them to go to the Tajik village of Langar. A conflict arose and Kyrgyz border guards reportedly opened fire at Tajik nationals.
“As a result, the 18-year-old resident of the village of Chorkuh Boborizo Rizoyev was killed and one Tajik border guard was wounded,” the source said.
An official source at the Isfara mayor’s office says the border guard underwent surgery and nothing now threatens his health.
Presidential Adviser on National Security Sherali Khairulloyev left for Isfara yesterday evening to investigate the incident.
Meanwhile, Kyrgyz news website
Turmush
reports that Tajik national was killed in exchange of fire on the disputable stretch of the border in the Kocho-Karyn area of the Kyrgyz district of Batken.
According to
Turmush
, the border incident occurred at around 4:00-5:00 pm. “According to the preliminary information, Kyrgyz border guards on routine patrol spotted six Tajik nationals who crossed into Kyrgyz territory via the disputable stretch of the border and were throwing stones at cars belonging to Kyrgyz nationals driving along the Batken-Isfana highway. Kyrgyz border guards demanded that Tajik nationals return to Tajik territory but their demand was ignored and Tajik nationals began throwing stones at Kyrgyz border guards,” Kyrgyz border service was quoted as saying by
Turmush
.
Tajik border guards that come to scene of incident reportedly did not take measures to stop rowdy acts of Tajik nationals. “Moreover, Tajik border guards together with Tajik nationals attempted to seize weapons of Kyrgyz border guards. Each of sides fired a shot and as a result one of Tajik nationals was wounded,”
Turmush
reports.
Tajik sources say that witnesses of the incident deny reports by Kyrgyz media outlets that Tajik nationals were allegedly throwing stones at Kyrgyz border guards and nationals of neighboring country as absolutely ‘baseless.’
We will recall that Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have been locked in a tense border dispute over Vorukh, an exclave of Tajikistan within Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan has suggested using the maps of the periods of 1955-1959 for demarcation and delimitation of the disputable stretches of the border while Tajikistan has suggested working with documents and maps of the period of 1924-1927. The maps of the early 1920s show the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic as incorporating Vorukh within its borders while the maps of the 1950s show Vorukh as an exclave within the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic.
