Details of the conflict between citizens of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan

Since yesterday, the situation at the Tajik-Kyrgyz border in the city of Isfara, Sughd region, is considered tense.

On July 25, 2023, sources from Azda TV in the city of Isfara, Sughd region, report that law enforcement officers and the border service of Kyrgyzstan have blocked the road towards the rural community of Chorkukh, and residents cannot move freely towards the city of Isfara.

The news agency “Khovar,” citing the Border Troops of the State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan, reports that on July 24 at 5:30 PM, an incident occurred in the border zone of Tajikistan with Kyrgyzstan. A convoy of vehicles belonging to residents of the rural community of Vorukh, consisting of 8 cars, was heading towards Isfara for a wedding event for their children. At the entrance to the village of Oksai, the convoy was pelted with stones by a citizen of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, a resident of the rural community of Oksai in the neighboring country, who was driving a “Mercedes-Benz” car with state number 134 ACJ 03 KG while intoxicated. Under the pretext that one of the wedding cars allegedly obstructed the movement of his vehicle, he blocked the roadway. After exiting his car, the man threw stones at the vehicles of Tajik citizens. As a result, various parts of 3 cars were damaged, and 4 citizens of Tajikistan sustained minor physical injuries.

After the arrival of local government officials and law enforcement officers from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan at the scene of the conflict, negotiations took place, and the conflict was resolved.

However, residents report that while the conflict may have been temporarily resolved, in reality, law enforcement officers and the border service of Kyrgyzstan are in a state of full readiness in most border areas. It is unclear whether this readiness is to prevent possible subsequent conflicts or if they have other intentions and goals.

According to them, after the conflict occurred in this area, fearing that a new conflict or armed confrontation might happen, a large number of residents from border areas with Kyrgyzstan fled their homes. On the other side of the border, the authorities of Kyrgyzstan also evacuated some residents of the border region.

Previously, there were disputes between the authorities of Russia and Kyrgyzstan, and some experts believe that there is a likelihood that a third party may be involved in the conflicts at the borders, particularly at the Tajik-Kyrgyz border. As the smuggling of drugs through Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to other countries has significantly decreased, this factor, which in the past was a cause of border conflicts, is now almost absent.