DUSHANBE, 18.09.2022 (NIAT Khovar) – On September 14, at 7:15, military units of the Border Troops of the State Committee for National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic, without any reason, began shelling the Kekh border post of the Border Troops of the State Committee for National Security of the Republic of Tajikistan in the Vorukh rural community of Isfara.

During this unprovoked act of aggression, the Kyrgyz side used mortars, machine guns and other small arms. As a result of the shelling, two servicemen of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan were killed. Also, the Kyrgyz side carried out the transfer of additional forces and heavy equipment to the border areas. The Tajik side was forced to return fire.

That day, approximately at 14:10, immediately after the announcement of the ceasefire regime, Kyrgyz military personnel using group weapons attacked the settlements of Langar and Sari Bozor, as well as the building of secondary school No. 47 of Chorkuh rural community, as a result of which students and teachers of this educational institution were wounded.

Despite the agreement on the de-escalation of the situation and the withdrawal of additional forces, on September 16 at 04:50, Kyrgyz military personnel began shelling the ‘Dushanbe’ frontier post using heavy weapons. Also, Kyrgyz military personnel carried out an armed attack on the settlements of Khojai Alo, Kummazor, Surkh, Somoniyon and Kulkand of Isfara, as well as Khistevarz and Ovchikal’acha of Bobojon Gafurov. In the course of massive shelling of residential areas of the village of Chorkishlok in the city of Isfara, the Kyrgyz side used such heavy equipment as infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) and armored personnel carriers.

On that day, at about 06:30, servicemen of the Kyrgyz special forces invaded the territory of the Bogdori village of Chilgazi rural community of Isfara and burned 16 houses of local residents, and committed acts of depredation and looting. It should be emphasized that during this invasion, the Kyrgyz military entered the house of a Tajik citizen, an elderly woman, and killed her with severe cruelty.

During this period of time, again violating the declared ceasefire, the Kyrgyz military began shelling the village of Khojai Alo from the territory of the Golovnaya water distribution station. During the shelling, they attacked civilian infrastructure facilities and damaged the Shurob power line and the bridge in the Chorkishlok village. In addition, as part of this aggression, the Kyrgyz military massively set fire to the houses of civilians in the settlements of Bogiston and Lakon of Isfara. The Kyrgyz military fire killed five members of a family, including a 6-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy and a woman in her eighth month of pregnancy in Chorkuh rural community.

Beginning at 07:30, Kyrgyz military units opened fire along the entire line of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border. Thus, during the massive shelling of the territory of Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz military applied 20 units of heavy armored vehicles, including tanks, armored personnel carriers and armored reconnaissance and patrol vehicles. As a result of this massive shelling, they destroyed the building of a secondary school and 8 houses in the Bogiston village of Isfara, as well as houses in the Somoniyon village. It should be noted that as a result of mortar shelling, the Kyrgyz side killed two elderly women — citizens of Tajikistan in the settlement of Khistevarz rural community of Bobojon Gafurov district of Tajikistan.

Despite the ceasefire agreement that was reached at various levels of the military and civilian authorities of the two countries, on September 16, at 19:10, the Kyrgyz military opened fire and completely destroyed the buildings of secondary schools No. 225 and No. 64 of the Chorkuh rural community of Isfara.

In the evening of the same day, in violation of the norms of international humanitarian law, Kyrgyz military personnel fired from armored vehicles at an ambulance transporting wounded civilians of Chorkishlok village of Zumrad rural community of Tajik Isfara. As a result of this inhuman attack, five Tajik citizens — an ambulance paramedic and members of one family, including 6 and 5-year-old children were killed.

On September 16, the co-chairs of the intergovernmental commission at a meeting reached an agreement on a ceasefire from 16:00, mentioned in Protocol No. 41. Despite this, the Kyrgyz side used combat helicopters and attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) Bayraktar TB2 to bombard the territory of Tajikistan. Thus, as a result of an UAV strike on the building of school No. 8 of the Ovchikal’acha rural communityof Bobojon Gafurov district, 6 civilians of Tajikistan died. During an UAV strike on a mosque in the Ovchikal’acha, 12 civilians of Tajikistan were killed and more than 20 people, including a seven-year-old child were wounded. Also, the Kyrgyz side posts videos of UAV strikes on civilian facilities in the open information space.

In the early morning of September 17, the Kyrgyz military personnel once again violated the ceasefire regime and carried out mortar shelling of the Chorkuh rural community and a section of the Chorkishlok road of the Chorkuh.

At 11:10, servicemen of military unit 707 of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Internal Affairs opened fire from all types of weapons at the “Dushanbe” border outpost of the Isfara border detachment. The special units troops of Kyrgyzstan fired at the village of Somoniyon of Chorkuh.

At 11:50, the Kyrgyz servicemen using multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), shelled Tojvaron village of Lakhsh district of Tajikistan.  As a result of this attack, several civilians were injured, including women and children, and 3 residential buildings were destroyed.

It should be emphasized that no conflict cases were recorded in this area and the concentration of forces and means of the Kyrgyz side in this area, taking into account the complexity of the terrain, would take more than one week.  During the day, Kyrgyz military personnel fired three times at settlements in the border zone of the Lakhsh district using MLRS.  They attacked the School No. 15 in the village of Tojvaron, as a result of which 3 school students were injured.

In recent days, with a view to creating the image of an “aggressor” in the face of its neighbor, the Kyrgyz side, not shunning outright lies and insinuations, continues an information campaign against Tajikistan, thereby escalating tension in the border area.  On September 17, in his address to the nation, the Kyrgyz President used the word “enemy” in relation to Tajikistan.