Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan cuts short his vacation, as conflict breaks out on border with Tajikistan

Today, on August 4, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Temir Sariyev had to cut short his vacation, as “the situation on the border with Tajikistan has grown tense,” the executive office of the Kyrgyz government says in a statement.

According to the officials, Sariyev was back to work ahead of schedule also because of the note on Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) that was signed with President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. In this light, the customs borders of Kyrgyzstan with other EEU countries (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia) will open within the coming days.

EADaily reported earlier that the situation near the Mayskaya community on the southern border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has grown tense after the citizens of Tajikistan blocked the road to the cemetery of the Kyrgyz village and did not let the citizens of Kyrgyzstan there. In response, the Kyrgyz turned off the water supply to the Tajik village near the border-zone.  Afterwards, the two groups started throwing stones at each another. The clashes calmed down after interference of the authorities and law-enforcers.  However, today in the morning, the conflict broke out with renewed vigor. Six citizens of Tajikistan from the near-border village of Somonien received gunshot wounds, as the Kyrgyz used hunter’s guns.