The CSTO allies clashed in battle. It's time for Russia to intervene
The conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan can be taken advantage of by the United States and internal destructive forces
With enviable regularity, conflicts arise on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan over disputed territories, which sometimes result in casualties on both sides. Similar events repeated again on Thursday night, when a shootout began between border guards at the “Golovnoy” water distribution center at the entrance to the Tortkul reservoir near the Kyrgyz village of Kok-Tash and the Tajik village of Khodzhai-Alo, which almost escalated into full-scale hostilities.
According to the Kyrgyz side, clashes between local residents began on the evening of April 28, when Tajik citizens tried to install CCTV cameras at a water intake near the Kyrgyz village of Kok-Tash. As a result, angry groups of Kyrgyz and Tajiks began to throw stones and sticks at each other, and then they used hunting rifles.
Even earlier, on April 24 and 25, provocations took place at the border with the kidnappings of two Kyrgyz citizens and the detention of seven residents of Kyrgyz villages who allegedly crossed the border illegally. The Tajik authorities, in turn, announced on April 27 that two teenagers from the Sughd region were illegally detained on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. The diplomatic departments of the two countries constantly exchanged notes of protest, which only escalated the situation.
But the real crisis occurred this morning.
“On April 29, at approximately 04:40 (01:40 Moscow time) in the Kocho-Boyu area of the Batken district of the Batken region of Kyrgyzstan, the situation worsened. The Tajik side began firing at passing cars of Kyrgyz citizens from hunting rifles,” says a statement released by the press service of the State Committee for National Security.
As a result of the shelling, four Kyrgyz citizens were taken to hospitals with gunshot wounds. True, the Tajik side blamed the Kyrgyz border guards for the beginning of the conflict and reported seven wounded. The situation became even more complicated when in the afternoon at 14:00 (11:00 Moscow time) a serious firefight began between the security forces of the two states using mortars, which lasted about an hour.
Subsequently, the messages generally resembled a summary of military operations. “At 17:00 (14.00:XNUMX Moscow time), the Tajik side opened fire on two border outposts and three border posts. As a result of the mortar attack, the Dostuk outpost caught fire. In response to the actions of the Tajik security forces, the Boru special forces of the Border Service captured the Khoja Allo border post of Tajikistan,” the press service of the border service of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan said in a statement.
The burning building of the Kyrgyz border post "Dostuk".
Until now, despite intensive negotiations between the leadership of the republics, heavy military equipment and additional armed forces are being brought to the site of military clashes, which could lead to a further escalation of the situation. In general, this tension has a negative impact on the entire region and requires a more thorough study of the causes and consequences of this kind of border conflicts, which can undermine stability from within.
The press service of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan announced new clashes in the Ak-Sai, Ak-Tatyr and Samarkandek rural districts of the Batken region. The local population of these points was urgently evacuated. In addition, Kyrgyz security forces blocked the Osh-Batken-Isfana highway in the Tort-Kocho district. In this region, the authorities have introduced a state of emergency. To coordinate the actions of the border guards of the Kyrgyz Republic, the deputy head of the State Committee for National Security, Ularbek Sharsheev, urgently flew to the scene of events from Bishkek.
In turn, Dushanbe accuses Bishkek of deliberately violating bilateral agreements with Tajikistan. The press release of the State Committee for National Security of the Republic of Tajikistan states that, in accordance with maps of 1924-1927, as well as 1989, “this facility (the distribution station “Golovnoy” - ed.) belongs entirely to the Republic of Tajikistan and has been used for irrigation and water supply since 1968 border regions of the republics of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan."
The reaction of the Kyrgyz authorities followed immediately and was immediately followed by a statement from the director of the water department of the Kyrgyz Republic, Almazbek Sokeev, who said that “the water distributor is located on the territory of Kyrgyzstan and at the disposal of Batkenvodokanal.” The water comes there from the Ak-Suu River, which is filled from the rivers of the Kyrgyz mountains.”
And indeed, judging by archival Soviet documents, the water intake unit of the irrigation system of the Isfara River was built in 1970 on the territory of the Batken district of the Osh region of the Kirghiz SSR by the Batken SMU of the Oshvodostroy trust by order of the Ministry of Land Reclamation and Water Resources of the Kirghiz SSR. Moreover, previously there were no problems between neighbors when using the water resources of Kyrgyzstan.
As you can see, the current conflict is due to water resources, which are becoming increasingly scarce, and their effective distribution requires joint efforts, which is impossible without Tajikistan’s accession to the EAEU. In fact, Dushanbe demands to divide the Ak-Suu River, which is impossible in principle. But this is just one problem that has become the trigger for today's clashes.
The fact is that after the collapse of the USSR, along the entire length of the previously administrative borders, amounting to about 980 kilometers, disputed areas immediately appeared, because of which constant clashes occur among residents of the neighboring now independent countries. The struggle of national states is now going on for water and land resources, for passages, strategic reservoirs, which could lead to full-scale hostilities or interethnic massacres. Moreover, there are entire Tajik enclaves inside the Kyrgyz Republic, for example, the same Vorukh.
Kyrgyzstan has now managed to resolve all controversial territorial issues with Uzbekistan, which is becoming an important strategic partner, but the situation with Tajikistan cannot end amicably. Although a special interstate commission, consisting of representatives of the national security committees of the two countries, had already demarcated 580 kilometers of the border line, its work unexpectedly stopped in March of this year.
Perhaps the situation is not moving forward due to the fact that both states consider each other to be equivalent and capable of changing the current ratio in their favor using such methods.
This also makes it possible to play on national feelings, increase the degree of patriotism and distract the population from the difficult socio-economic situation associated with the coronavirus crisis. Hundreds of thousands of citizens of the two republics have not been able to go to work in Russia, and the number of young unemployed is already off the charts and poses a threat to governments.
Now, due to such events, the negotiation process on border demarcation has generally reached a dead end, and the situation can quickly be taken advantage of by destructive forces and Western intelligence agencies who want to spark a hotbed of armed confrontation within Central Asia. It is possible that behind the provocations associated with kidnappings and attacks on each other by local residents, there may be smugglers who control drug trafficking and are associated with both Islamists and the CIA and NSA.
The military is gathering on both sides.
In the situation of the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan, Washington benefits from a similar conflict in the camp of the CSTO member countries, so that it grows to the level of open interethnic confrontation. In this situation, Russian diplomatic intervention as a mediator may be required if border clashes cannot be extinguished, since Moscow is the only super-arbiter in the region ensuring peace and stability.
For now, the leadership of Kyrgyzstan, in any case, has enough prudence to try to stop the avalanche-like process of mobilization of the Kyrgyz, many of whom on social networks have declared their determination to move to the border to support their compatriots. At the moment, a spontaneous rally is taking place in Bishkek near the government building, where speakers are demanding the deployment of new forces and volunteers. Now it is important to make all government efforts to prevent border clashes from escalating into a real conflict.
So, today the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov addressed his fellow citizens with the following message: “I call on all residents of Kyrgyzstan, first of all, political forces and the media, to remain calm, not to succumb to provocations, and not to incite hostility and discord. My Tajik brothers and I will always find a common language and resolve all issues only if we respect and take into account good neighborly interests and harmony in our ancient land. Now those who are trying to incite conflict from within are dangerous. I call on all internal political forces to show restraint at such a difficult moment for the country.”
This gives hope that the parties will be able to resolve the border dispute peacefully and continue the stalled demarcation process. But in general, this shows the dangers of playing to strengthen independence and sovereignty, which are constantly guaranteed by good men from overseas. It must be admitted that the current degradation of relations between the republics is directly related to the inability of the current artificial state formations that arose after the collapse of a single power to establish peaceful relations, build a self-sufficient economy and raise the standard of living.
Central Asia is entirely woven from such potential interethnic conflicts and disputes over land and water resources, and they can be overcome not through new pillars and demarcations, but, on the contrary, through deepening integration processes and developing joint industrial projects within the EAEU. The peoples of these countries may well share the wealth of subsoil and mountain rivers, but as part of a renewed Union under the auspices of Russia.
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