BISHKEK, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan said on Sunday nearly 100 people had died in their border dispute, as a fragile ceasefire between the two Central Asian countries dragged on for the first time. second day and which their common ally, Russia, called a de-escalation.
The former Soviet republics clashed September 14-16 in a border dispute, accusing each other of using tanks, mortars, rockets and assault drones to attack outposts and neighboring villages.
Both countries border China, Tajikistan also has a border with Afghanistan.
Border issues in Central Asia stem largely from the Soviet era, when Moscow tried to divide the region between groups that were often settled among other ethnicities.
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan agreed on September 16 to a ceasefire which has largely been respected despite several incidents.
Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the two countries to avoid any further escalation and to take steps to resolve the situation “exclusively by peaceful, political and diplomatic means as soon as possible”. (Report Olga Dzyubenko, with Nazarali Pirnazarov Dushanbe, French version Benjamin Mallet)