Kyrgyz Border Guard Reports Firefight On Border With Tajikistan

BISHKEK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th July, 2021) A firefight took place on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the Border Guard Service of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan told Sputnik on Saturday.

Residents of Tajik border areas started on Saturday cleaning nearby areas of Kyrgyzstan's Batken region of sand without previously agreeing the measure with the Kyrgyz side, the authority said. After the Tajik side refused to stop the work as per the request of the local authorities and Kyrgyz border guard, clashes between the sides broke out.

During the clashes, the Tajik border guards fired shots towards Kyrgyzstan, the border guard said, adding that they " fired retaliatory shots towards Tajikistan."

No casualties are reported in the clashes, the border guard said, noting the situation is unstable.