More than a thousand Afghans retreated into Tajikistan after fighting with supporters of the radical Taliban movement (banned in Russia). This was stated in a statement by the press center of the Border Troops of Tajikistan's State Committee for National Security, published on Monday on the website of the state news agency Khovar.
"During armed clashes with the Taliban, 1,037 Afghan government troops retreated through the border areas of Shokhon Sh. of Shokhin district (104 people), Ruzvay (213 people) and Nulvand (83 people) of Darwaz district, Khumrogi of Vanj district (173 people), Tem district of Khorog (312 people), Ishkashim (102 people) and Langar (50 people) of Ishkashim district to the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan," reads the statement.
Press center notes that based on the principle of good neighborliness and non-interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, the Afghan military was allowed to go to the territory of Tajikistan. "At present, the situation at these border checkpoints is under the control of Tajik border guards," the SCNS assured.
Over the past two weeks, there have already been several cases of the forced crossing of the Afghan military to the territory of Tajikistan. The escalating situation on the border between the two countries was the focus of a telephone conversation between President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan and President Muhammad Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan on Sunday. In this context, the head of Tajikistan informed his Afghan counterpart of new cases of the forced crossing of the common border by the Afghan military. According to the press service, the conversation emphasized "Tajikistan's unchanged position on the problem of Afghanistan, which is not to interfere in its internal affairs and fully support the efforts of official authorities to establish peace, stability and security in the country".
Earlier, CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas said that the situation in northern Afghanistan was worsening and caused serious concern for the organization. It is necessary to help Tajikistan secure its southern border, he said. On July 1, the Council of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly adopted a statement of concern over the situation in Afghanistan and called on all political forces of the country to promote the peace process.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS