Tajik border guard killed in clash with Kyrgyz guards
A Tajik border guard has been shot dead in a clash with Kyrgyz guards along the volatile and poorly demarcated common border, RFE/RL reports.
According to a statement by the Kyrgyz border guards, a shot was fired from the Tajik border post of Kekh in the direction of the Kyrgyz border checkpoint in the Bulak-Bashi area of the Kyrgyzstan's Batken region at around 7 a.m. (0100 GMT/UTC) on June 14.
The military there "returned fire in the direction of the Tajik outpost," the Kyrgyz statement said. It did not report any casualties on the Kyrgyz side.
Tajik authorities have not yet officially commented on the incident, but RFE/RL's Tajik Service quoted sources as saying that a 26-year-old Tajik border guard was killed in the exchange of fire.
Both sides said border guard commanders and local governors were in talks regarding the incident.