Border guards of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan tripled another firefight, RIA Novosti reported. The conflict, as stated by the Kyrgyz side, occurred because the residents of the Tajik village of Vorukh grazed cattle on Kyrgyz territory.
Kyrgyzstan noted that their border guards stopped these actions, and the Tajik side started shooting.
"We regard the provocative actions of the Kyrgyz border guards as an attempt to artificially destabilize the situation on the state borderline," the Tajik side said, noting that this "may lead to a response from the border residents of Tajikistan in this vulnerable zone."
According to Tajik security officials, on the morning of May 24, Kyrgyz shepherds from Vorukh entered the territory of Tajikistan and came into conflict with residents of the village of Puli Oftobruya.
"Residents of Puli Oftobruya resisted the illegal actions of Kyrgyz citizens and demanded to leave the village. But the Kyrgyz side, instead of observing the bilateral agreements that define the borderline in the disputed territories, sent additional border guards to the scene of the events, who opened fire towards the unarmed people of Puli Oftobruya," Tajikistan says.
It is noted that in the exchange of fire, one Tajik border guard was wounded in the leg.
Such incidents on the border of the two countries occur regularly. The previous one took place on May 8. Then, as a result of the exchange of fire, three Kyrgyz soldiers were injured, and the Tajik side claimed two victims.
The main cause of conflicts is non-delimited areas where it is impossible to determine where the border between states lies. The length of the border is about 980 kilometers, more than 450 of which are not delimited or demarcated.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"