MOSCOW — Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan traded blame Thursday for cross-border shelling and clashes that left at least one person dead and dozens injured in a conflict over water supply, the latest outburst of tensions between the two ex-Soviet Central Asian neighbors.
Kyrgyzstan’s National Security Committee said Tajik troops fired mortar shells and machine guns around a water reservoir in the village of Kok-Tash, which is located in the western Batken region near the border with Tajikistan.
The Interfax news agency quoted Omurbek Suvanaliyev, the Kyrgyz government’s envoy to the Batken region, as saying that a Kyrgyz man was killed in the shelling. Interfax reported that about 400 Kyrgyz residents were evacuated from Kok-Tash and another nearby village.
The news agency also quoted Marufkhan Tulayev, a deputy governor of the Batken region, as saying that four people were hospitalized with gunshot wounds after the shelling. Kyrgyzstan’s Health Ministry said 17 people were injured, including some with gunshot wounds.
Kyrgyz media released video footage showing Kyrgyz men taking cover as automatic gunfire rang out.
Kyrgyzstan’s border guard service said that Tajik troops shelled several Kyrgyz border checkpoints, setting one of them ablaze. In retaliation, Kyrgyz troops seized a Tajik checkpoint, it said in a statement.
Both parties were pulling up reinforcements to the border.
A large part of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border has remained unmarked, fueling fierce disputes over water, land and pastures. Kyrgyz and Tajik delegations have held several rounds of talks in recent years but have failed to end the controversy.
Tajikistan’s National Security Committee said Kyrgyz troops opened fire on Tajik border guards first and accused Kyrgyzstan of trying to forcefully take over the area, which Tajikistan sees as part of its territory.
It said seven Tajiks were injured by stones hurled by the Kyrgyz.
Kyrgyz authorities said the conflict erupted Wednesday, when Tajik officials attempted to mount surveillance cameras to monitor the water reservoir and the Kyrgyz side opposed the move.
Both nations have claimed the area around the water reservoir, a dispute dating back decades when they were part of the Soviet Union.
