Reuters news
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Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov on Monday urged his country to trust its military and strategic partners, saying there was no need for volunteer forces on the border with Tajikistan after deadly clashes there last week.
At least 100 people were killed between September 14 and 16 in skirmishes involving the use of tanks, aviation and rocket artillery over a disputed area of the border in the province. Kyrgyz Batken.
“We continue our efforts to solve the Kyrgyz-Tajik border issues in a completely peaceful way,” Japarov said in a televised address on the day of national mourning.
“Another point that I would like to mention: I call for calm among men and young men willing to come to Batken… We have brave warriors and enough force to repel border trespassers. ours.”
Japarov also asked Kyrgyzstan not to trust “provocators who slander our strategic partners, friendly countries and peoples who share our views”.
Russian news agencies reported that both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan had agreed to withdraw more equipment and military forces from the border, citing a statement from the head of Tajikistan’s Sogdiyskaya region.
Both sides have also agreed to continue to resolve the border conflict.
Kyrgyz authorities also said they were in talks on Monday to release four border guards who were captured by Tajik troops during the conflict.
On Monday, Tajikistan’s foreign ministry said the key to resolving the conflict lay in negotiations, and it reiterated its position that Kyrgyzstan instigated the fighting.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sodik Emomi told a press conference that ethnic Tajiks who are not Tajik citizens are being detained in Kyrgyzstan and that Kyrgyz drones were spotted flying into Tajik territory overnight.
Central Asian border problems largely date back to Soviet times, when Moscow attempted to divide the region between groups whose settlements were often among other peoples.
Emomi said there have been more than 230 border incidents between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the past 20 years, and that the epicenter of the latest conflict is an area of 2,000 square kilometers (772 square miles).
The former Soviet republics of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are all allies of Moscow and possess Russian military bases. Russia avoided taking sides in the conflict and called on the parties to resolve it peacefully.
