2021 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan clashes

2021-2022 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan clashes
Part of the post-Soviet conflicts
Map showing the borders between Kyrgyzstan (red) and Tajikistan (orange)
Date 28 April – 1 May 2021 (3 days) Location Kök-Tash, Batken, Batken District, Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan border Result Ceasefire
Belligerents
Tajikistan	Kyrgyzstan
Commanders and leaders
Emomali Rahmon Saimumin Yatimov Sherali Mirzo	Sadyr Japarov Kamchybek Tashiev
Units involved
Border Guard Service Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan OMON (Special Purpose Unit) of Ministry of the Interior	Border Guard Service
Casualties and losses
19 killed including 9 civilians 87 injured	36 killed including 33 civilians 190 injured
40,649+ Kyrgyz civilians displaced (as of 6 May, 2021)

A border conflict began between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on 28 April 2021. The events regarding the conflict's outbreak are disputed, but clashes reportedly began due to an old water dispute between the two Central Asian countries. Some sources report an immediate reason for the conflict was the dissatisfaction of the local population with the installation of surveillance cameras near the border. At least 55 people were killed in the events and more than 40,000 civilians were displaced. In January 2022, sporadic clashes resumed, killing at least 2 Tajik nationals and wounding many more.

Background

The territories that comprise present-day Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were conquered by the Russian Empire in the 19th century. In the 1920s, the Soviet Union imposed delimitation in the two regions which resulted in enclaves. Both countries became independent in 1991 when the Soviet Union dissolved. Both countries are also members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Collective Security Treaty Organisation.

The conflict erupted after Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu arrived in Tajikistan's capital, Dushanbe. Local Tajiki residents wanted to take control over the water distribution system on Isfara River, and conflict started with the dissatisfaction of the local Kyrgyz population regarding the installation of surveillance cameras by Tajik forces. Foreign political experts claim that the president of Kyrgyzstan instigated the conflict by offering to exchange Kyrgyz lands along the Tajikistan border with the exclave. This official announcement was made by the newly elected Kyrgyz President without consulting the Tajik authorities, which pushed them to prepare in case of emergency. Furthermore, the Kyrgyz military started its official training in Batken near the Tajik-Kyrgyz border.

Timeline

April

Batken Region in Kyrgyzstan.

On 28 April, forces of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on the Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan border between Kök-Tash and Khojai A'lo, started the clashes, resulting in four deaths and dozens of injuries. The initial clashes were fought with fists and thrown stones, but quickly escalated to gunfire, with reports of heavy weaponry. The following day clashes resumed, with reported incidents in the Kyrgyz village of Kok-Terek and some other villages in the Batken and Leylek Districts, and with at least 41 people killed from both sides and roughly 10,000 people evacuated. The same day the foreign ministers of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan agreed to a ceasefire at the border. On 30 April, Tajikistan acknowledged the ceasefire in a statement published by its state information service. However, the ceasefire was broken twice by Tajiks during the conflict, including the night of 29 April.

May

Leilek District (in red) in Kyrgyzstan.

On 1 May, the President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov signed a decree that declares a two-day nationwide mourning, accusing Tajikistan of building-up troops and military equipment on the border. The Kyrgyz side also accused Tajik forces of opening fire on Kyrgyz vehicles in the area, while a Tajik spokesman speaking from Dushanbe said that the country was sticking to the ceasefire and pull-out of troops. Musurmanbek Tursumatov, representative of the regional administrator of the Batken Region, said that Tajik forces had blocked the Osh-Batken-Isfana road to Vorukh despite the ceasefire coming into effect. That same day both countries also agreed to a new ceasefire following minor new border clashes, which includes withdrawing troops from the border. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged both countries to honor the new agreement.

On 2 May, around 33,388 civilians in Kyrgyzstan were evacuated from the Batken Region near the border. The Kyrgyz Ministry of the Interior and Tajikistan report that the situation at the border is stable and calm. However, an unexploded air-to-land rocket was later discovered at a house near the border in Batken.

On 3 May, both countries completed the withdrawal of troops from the border. The President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon also ordered that all residential buildings destroyed in Chorku are restored. On 6 May, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reports that 136 houses and 84 facilities in the Batken region have been destroyed. On 10 May, citizens in the Batken region returned home for the first time since evacuating the region. On 18 May, officials in both countries announced that they had agreed to joint security controls along disputed border.

Post-ceasefire incidents

July

On 9 July, despite the ceasefire, a clash between Tajik and Kyrgyz border guards killed one Kyrgyz serviceman. According to the Kyrgyz side, their patrol unit on horseback was fired upon by the Tajiks in Leylek.

January 2022

On 27 January 2022, clashes resumed which resulted in the deaths of 2 civilians and the wounding of several more. Tajikistan's national security committee said in a statement that there were an extra of 10 injuries on their side of the border, 6 of them being servicemen while the remaining 4 were civilians. On the other side, Kyrgyzstan's health ministry said that at least 11 of its citizens were being treated for moderately serious injuries.

Kyrgyzstan authorities stated that the blocking of a road between the provincial centre of Batken and the Kyrgyz village of Isfana by Tajik citizens was the cause of the clashes.

March

On 10 March an armed incident between border guards at the Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan border, in the area of Teskey, Batken district, killed a Tajik border guard member. Following the incident, officials from the Batken Region in Kyrgyzstan and the Sughd Region in Tajikistan holds talks.

Casualties

During the four-day conflict, at least 55 people were confirmed killed: 36 died in Kyrgyzstan and 19 in Tajikistan. At least 163 people were wounded in Kyrgyzstan. More than 33,000 people had been evacuated from the area where fighting was taking place.

The Kyrgyz Ministry of Health and Social Development stated that overall both military and civilian were killed in the clashes. It also stated that most of the dead and wounded were civilians. Some of the civilian deaths occurred when Kyrgyz villagers fled their homes in panic under Tajik mortar fire. Among the killed were a sixth-grader girl and her mother, who, according to Kyrgyz reports, were shot. On 3 May, the death toll for Kyrgyzstan reached to 36 after a 4-year-old boy named Abidin Tursunbaev was killed. Tajikistan also admitted that there are deaths on their side in clashes. On 4 May, the number of Tajiks killed at the border increased to 19, including eight border guards and one OMON (special police unit) officer. On 5 May, the death toll during the clashes reached to 55. On 27 January 2022, clashes resumed which resulted in the deaths of 2 people, further adding to the number of casualties.

War crimes

On 30 April, Human Rights Watch reported that armed Tajiks in civilian clothing had burned down all 17 houses in the Kyrgyz village of Kok-Terek, and 135 houses in Marksat, Arka, International and other 2 villages were destroyed and burnt by Tajik military. The local unprotected population was under mortar and artillery fire. Leilek District. The Kyrgyz authorities also stated that a school was burned. On 2 May, the Kyrgyzstan Interior Ministry launched 11 criminal probe investigations into the events on the border. On 3 May, the prosecutor general's office of Tajikistan launched a criminal investigation into servicemen and citizens of Kyrgyzstan for "unleashing a aggressive war". The Kyrgyz Prosecutor General's Office filed a case on the crime against the peace on 30 April and accused the Tajikistan Armed Forces of invading the country and seizing their sovereign territory.

International reactions

UN-member states

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared the need that the governments of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan reach a lasting agreement to prevent new border clashes. It called on the parties to "achieve, through negotiations in the spirit of partnership and good neighbour policy, a sustainable and lasting agreement that will normalize the situation and take measures to prevent such incidents." Neighbouring Uzbekistan offered to assist in mediating the conflict. Turkey also said that it would provide assistance to both countries.

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in a phone conversation with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, offered condolences in connection with human losses as a result of the conflict.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh stated that Iran is worriedly following fighting between the two friendly and brotherly countries of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and offer assistance to advance negotiations.

Afghan TV channel 1TV shared on its Twitter account the Afghan Foreign Ministry's statement expressing concern over the border clashes and calls for dialogue.

Pakistan also praised the ceasefire.

Kyrgyzstanis in Germany and the United Kingdom organizes rallies and protests at Tajikistani embassies. Additionally, citizens living in San Francisco protests in support of Batken and call for international institutions to bring President Rahmon to justice.

Supranational organizations

The European Union welcomed the ceasefire agreement reached on 30 April, and expressed regret over the violence, as well as sympathy to those who had lost relatives or friends.

The Secretary-General of the Turkic Council Baghdad Amreyev stated that "... the Turkic Council calls on the parties to continue exercising caution and take joint measures to stabilize the situation by refraining from any actions that may lead to further escalation of tension", and added it will continue maintaining its close contact with the "Government of brotherly Kyrgyzstan", a founding member of the Turkic Council.

See also

• Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan relations