On the morning of September 14, a shootout took place at the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

No casualties were reported as a result of the incident. This was announced by the border service of Kyrgyzstan, Radio Svoboda writes.

Bishkek claims that Tajik border guards did not respond to demands to leave and opened fire. Dushanbe has not yet made any public official comments.

The Kyrgyz side claims that near Bulak-Bashi of the Batken district in the Batken region, border guards detected the border guards of Tajikistan. The military assumed the “combat positions” at the border section.

The Tajik military ignored the demand to leave the territory and opened fire. In response, border guards of Kyrgyzstan also used weapons.

According to the Kyrgyz side, the Tajik border guards used mortars during the firefight.

Radio Svoboda’s Kyrgyz service also reported on the negotiations between the President’s Representative in the Batken region of Kyrgyzstan and the Governor of the Sogd region of Tajikistan. At the moment, the heads of the border services of both countries are en route to the scene of the incident.

It is noted that this is the third shooting in this area over the last few months. On June 3rd, it lasted for several hours, and two Kyrgyz soldiers were wounded. The Kyrgyz side stated that the Tajik border guards have illegally crossed the conditional border line near Bulak-Bashi and entered the territory of Kyrgyzstan.

Another incident between border guards took place in Bulak-Bash on June 14. The Kyrgyz side reported no victims. Tajikistan announced the commander of the border post to be wounded. Sources of the Tajik service of RFE/RL reported the death of a 26-year-old border guard from Tajikistan.

The length of the border between the two countries is 970 kilometers. Areas between the Batken region of Kyrgyzstan and the Sughd region of Tajikistan, where villages and sometimes residential houses of the two countries are located next to each other, are disputed. This makes it difficult to define a clear border line.

Therefore, there are clashes between residents and border guards of the neighboring states for the right to access water, land, and communications.

As previously reported, the day before, the ceremonial opening of the Bayraktar TB2 drone base took place in Kyrgyzstan. The UAVs were purchased for use by the Border Service of Kyrgyzstan.