Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan agree on border ceasefire

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan agree on border ceasefire (Kabar)

BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have agreed to cease their hostilities at the border following negotiations between representatives from the neighboring countries.

The press service of the Border Service of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan reported that the two sides agreed to a complete ceasefire.

The agreement stipulates the withdrawal of each of the parties of additional forces and means, drawn up to the border, to the places of permanent deployment; the opening of traffic on the Batken-Isfana road; and the joint patrolling of law enforcement officers of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in border areas in order to prevent conflicts.

According to Kabar news agency, Tajik border guards on Thursday unilaterally blocked a section of the Batken-Isfana road in the area of Tort-Kocho in Batken region of Kyrgyzstan from 5:30 until 6 pm.

The road section was reopened for traffic at 7:30 pm following the negotiations.

However, at around 7:35 pm, the situation was compounded due to the use of weapons and fire by the Tajik side on the border units of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan in the Chyr-Dobo area of Batken region.

The Tajik side used mortars and grenade launchers and seven Kyrgyzstanis were reportedly injured, Kabar said.

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan share a 970-kilometer-long border.

Failure to clearly demarcate the border has led to hundreds of clashes in the areas between communities and state troops over the decades.

Last year, dozens of people were killed and injured in an armed confrontation between the two countries.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) — a military alliance of which Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are members — said that its Secretary-General Stanislav Zas held talks with military officials of the two countries in a bid to halt the conflict.