On Tuesday, May 7, an incident occurred on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border, resulting in one Tajik citizen sustaining a gunshot wound.
Both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan reported on the incident, but the two sides have different accounts of what happened.
According to the Tajik version, at 11:00 local time, a Tajik citizen, 34-year-old Olimjon Abdulloev, a history teacher at School No. 4 in the Jabor Rasulov district of the Sughd region, intended to approach the Kyrgyz military personnel stationed in the village of Sulyukta to inquire about the fate of his underage son, Ramzan Abdulloev, who was detained at the border.
The Tajik Border Troops Press Center reported that Olimjon Abdulloev is currently hospitalized in the district hospital.
The Kyrgyz version states that the incident occurred around 12:20 near the village of Ak-Boso in the Leylek district of the Batken region.
The Kyrgyz Border Service Information and Communication Department stated that Tajik citizens - shepherds grazing cattle on Kyrgyz territory 250-300 meters from the state border - ignored the border guards' demands to leave Kyrgyzstan and started throwing stones at the military personnel.
In order to prevent escalation, the Kyrgyz border guards fired warning shots into the air, after which the shepherds fled to Tajikistan. It is reported that one of the Tajik citizens was injured in the leg. However, the circumstances of the injury remain unclear as Tajik law enforcement officials only provided a photograph. There were no casualties among the Kyrgyz border guards.
It is expected that a meeting between border representatives of both sides will be held to clarify the situation. Currently, the situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik section of the border is described as stable.
The head of the village council of Kurgoncha in the Jabor Rasulov district, Nodir Usmonzoda, confirmed the fact that a local resident was injured by Kyrgyz border guards.
In an interview with Radio Ozodi on the evening of May 7, Usmonzoda stated that "the resident of the village of Kurgoncha, Olimjon Abdulloev, was injured in the leg and hospitalized in the central district hospital."
He explained that the incident began when Usmonzoda's son went to graze livestock, but Kyrgyz border guards unexpectedly appeared and started making claims. Abdulloev rushed to the scene and during a verbal altercation, he was shot in the leg. The incident took place on Tajikistan's territory, not Kyrgyzstan's.
This is the first reported incident involving the use of weapons on the border between the two countries in the last two years. The last armed conflict occurred in September 2022, resulting in casualties on both sides.
Since then, the two countries have held several meetings and negotiations, effectively putting an end to the conflicts. The joint intergovernmental commission on border delimitation and demarcation has been meeting more frequently and coordinating disputed border areas.
- Active cooperation and interaction in ensuring border security have been noted.
- A high level of bilateral dialogue has been achieved for border security.
A protocol was signed confirming the parties' commitments to further cooperation and joint actions on the border.
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have been negotiating the delimitation and demarcation of their border since 2002. In 2023, topographic working groups held 15 meetings, resulting in the description of 169.48 km of the border.
President Emomali Rahmon stated that around 90% of the border line has been determined.
However, details of the negotiations and conditions for agreeing on sections are not disclosed, leaving the public and media unaware of the methods used and the outcomes.
The total length of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border is 972 kilometers.
