After six days of sometimes fierce fighting with dozens of dead, the Central Asian ex-Soviet republics of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have agreed on a ceasefire. The protocol was signed on Monday by the heads of the two countries’ secret services, Russian agencies reported. Troops and heavy weapons should be withdrawn from the border, it said.
The situation in the Kyrgyz border region of Batken is gradually stabilizing, said the head of the State Committee for National Security, Kamychbek Tashiyev. His counterpart from Tajikistan, Saymumin Yatimov, said: “We are convinced that real peace is now returning to our state borders.” Their meeting took place at the Guliston border crossing point.
According to official information on the Kyrgyz side, at least 59 people have been killed and 164 injured since the fighting broke out on September 14. According to this, 136,000 people had to be brought to safety from the crisis area in Batken province.
Tajikistan reported 41 dead. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than 30 years ago, the two high-mountain countries have been at odds at numerous points over the course of their approximately 1,000-kilometer border.
