Death toll in conflict on Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border reaches nearly 100

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan said on Sunday that nearly 100 people had died in the conflict over the two nations’ border, while a fragile ceasefire between the Central Asian countries stretched for a second day and their ally Russia urged the reduction of combat.

The former Soviet republics clashed over a September 14-16 border dispute, accusing each other of using tanks, mortars, rocket artillery and assault drones to attack nearby outposts and settlements.

Both countries share a border with China, while Tajikistan also has a long border with Afghanistan.

Long stretches of the border separating the two ex-Soviet states are disputed. The clashes in April 2021 left more than 50 dead and raised the prospect of a wider conflict.

Central Asia’s border issues stem largely from the Soviet era, when Moscow tried to divide the region between states that were often established among other ethnicities.

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