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MOSCOW (AP) — The safety chiefs of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan sat down for talks Saturday to cease preventing on the border between the 2 international locations that thus far has killed no less than 24 individuals and wounded over 100.
The Kyrgyz border service introduced the brand new spherical of talks as the 2 ex-Soviet nations traded blame for shelling that resumed Saturday morning after what gave the impression to be a short respite in a single day.
The preventing, which began Wednesday for no apparent or publicly introduced cause, intensified on Friday. Kyrgyzstan’s Well being Ministry mentioned early Saturday that the our bodies of 24 individuals killed within the clashes had been delivered to hospitals within the Batken area that borders Tajikistan.
Kyrgyz hospitals and clinics additionally handled 103 individuals wounded within the shelling, the ministry mentioned. It wasn’t instantly clear whether or not there have been any casualties on Tajikistan’s aspect.
Tajik authorities, nonetheless, accused Kyrgyz forces of destroying a mosque and concentrating on civilian infrastructure, together with residential buildings. Tajikistan’s safety officers additionally charged that Kyrgyzstan was amassing troops and navy gear close to the border in preparation for “provocations.”
It wasn’t instantly clear what prompted the preventing on the tense border between the 2 former Soviet Central Asian neighbors. An try to determine a cease-fire on Friday afternoon rapidly failed and artillery shelling resumed later within the day.
Kyrgyzstan’s Emergencies Ministry mentioned 136,000 individuals had been evacuated from the world engulfed by the preventing.
The border guard chiefs of the 2 international locations met round midnight and agreed to create a joint monitoring group to assist finish the hostilities.
In 2021, a dispute over water rights and the set up of surveillance cameras by Tajikistan led to clashes close to the border that killed no less than 55 individuals.
READ MORE: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan commerce blame for cross-border shelling
The presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Sadyr Zhaparov and Emomali Rakhmon, met Friday on the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Group in Uzbekistan. In response to a press release on Zhaparov’s web site, the 2 leaders mentioned the border scenario and agreed to process the related authorities with pulling again troops and stopping the preventing.
Zhaparov mentioned Saturday in a web-based assertion that “the problem of disputed borders has at all times been accompanied with conflicts and casualties.”
“However, we is not going to give anybody a single meter of our land, which we inherited from our ancestors,” Zhaparov mentioned. “We’ll firmly defend nationwide pursuits.”
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