Tajik border guard killed in shootout

On June 14, around 6 a.m., a shootout occurred between Tajik and Kyrgyz border guards near the settlement of Keh in the Isfara district. As a result, a 26-year-old Tajik serviceman was killed.

Photo: Internet

According to Asia-Plus, gunfire was opened from the Kyrgyz side in the morning without any reason towards the Tajik border guards, including from mortars.

The press service of the State National Security Committee of Kyrgyzstan (GKNB) almost immediately issued a statement accusing the Tajik side of resuming the border conflict.

According to the press service of the Border Service of the GKNB of the Kyrgyz Republic, around 7 a.m. in the area of Bulak-Bashy in the Batken district of Batken region, a shot was fired from the border post “Keh” of the Tajikistan border troops towards the border post “Bulak-Bashy” of the Kyrgyz border service. In response, a retaliatory shot was also fired from the Kyrgyz side towards the Tajik post.

It is reported that the border representatives of Kyrgyzstan in the Batken region and the border representative of Tajikistan in the Sughd region held telephone negotiations. The heads of the border detachments of both countries went to the scene of the incident.

However, as usual, there have been no official statements from Tajik authorities regarding the shootout and the death of the Tajik soldier.

Earlier, on June 3, a shootout occurred between Tajik and Kyrgyz border guards at the Tajik-Kyrgyz border in the village of Puli Oftobruy, 10 km from the center of the jamoat.

A source from Azda TV in the jamoat of Vorukh described the events at the border as follows:

“This morning, there was no electricity on the Tajik side of the border, and the border guards called an electrician. When the electrician climbed the pole, Kyrgyz snipers fired at him, and then shot at the Tajik border guard standing next to him, hitting him in the neck. Shortly after, he died. The electrician is still alive and has been hospitalized in Vorukh. If he is not taken to the central hospital in the city of Isfara, he will likely die.”

However, as reported by the press service of the GKNB of Kyrgyzstan, in the area of Bulak-Bashy in the Batken district, the border patrol discovered Tajik servicemen. They had illegally crossed the conditional border line and entered the territory of Kyrgyzstan.