Kyrgyz-Tajik border conflict death toll approaches 100
(VOVWORLD) - Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan said on Sunday that nearly 100 people have died in their border conflict, the worst outbreak of violence in years between the two former Soviet Central Asian neighbors.
 Kyrgyz soldiers patrol in the village of Maksat, near the border with Tajikistan on May 4, 2021. (Documentary photo: AFP/VNA) |
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan clashed over a border dispute last week, accusing each other of using tanks, mortars, rocket artillery and assault drones to attack outposts and nearby settlements.
Kyrgyzstan said on Sunday that 59 people had died in the southern border region of Batken. The country's emergency situations minister added that four Kyrgyz soldiers were reported missing. Tajikistan on Sunday reported that 35 people had been killed. It has not reported any mass evacuations.
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan agreed to a ceasefire last Friday, which has largely held up despite several alleged incidents of shelling. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone to his Kyrgyz and Tajik counterparts on Sunday, urging the two sides to prevent further escalation and to take measures to resolve the situation as soon as possible, offering assistance, his office said in a statement.