An exchange of fire between servicemen of the two states occurred on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, the Kyrgyz Border Guard Service reported.
Earlier, the Border Guard Service of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) of Kyrgyzstan reported a tense situation on the section of the border with Tajikistan.
"As of January 27, the situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik section of the state border was tense", the report says. According to the agency, from 5:30 to 6:00 pm (2:30 to 3:00 pm Moscow time) the National Security of Tajikistan Border Troops "unilaterally closed the Batken - Isfana part of the road in the area of Tert-Keche of Batken Region".
Kiyalbek Tolonbaev, head of the Batken branch of the National Security Committee, and Rustam Mirshakirov, head of the Batken border guard detachment, went to the site. "Border guard units deployed at this section of the border in Batken oblast have been put on a heightened duty regime", the agency stresses.
The length of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border is about 950 kilometers, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, there are dozens of disputed sections. The negotiation process on demarcation and delimitation intensified in 2002, and since then, nearly two hundred commissions and working groups have met. At present, about 550 km of the boundary line have already been described in the process of delimitation and demarcation. However, there are still sometimes conflicts between local residents on the border between the two countries, which are often accompanied by shootouts.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS