Kyrgyz border guards report shelling with Tajik peers

The shelling occurred between border guards of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on the two countries’ border on Tuesday, the Border Guard Service of the State Committee for National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic said in a statement.

"On June 14, 2022, the shelling occurred between border patrol units of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan on the Kyrgyz-Tajik part of the state border," the statement said. No information on deaths or injuries was provided.

According to the Kyrgyz side, a shot was fired from the Keh border checkpoint of Tajik border forces in the direction of the Kyrgyz border outpost in the Bulak-Bashi area of the Batken district of the Batken region of Kyrgyzstan at around 7:00 am (4:00 am Moscow time). The military there "returned fire in the direction of the Tajik outpost." After the incident there was a telephone conversation between border officials of the two countries, though after a while the shelling resumed.

"Currently a meeting between border officials of the sides is being held to determine the cause of the shelling and prevent the situation from escalating," the statement said.

Kyrgyzstan is using all reasonable efforts "for stabilization of the environment," the border service noted. The situation on the border between the two republics is currently "characterized as tense," according to the statement.