The European Union allocated €170,000 (over 17,5 million soms) in humanitarian funding in response to the armed conflict that marred Kyrgyzstan’s southwestern border province of Batken in late April.
The aid will benefit at least 6,000 people in some of the worst hit areas in the districts of Batken, the provincial capital, and Leilek.
This EU-funding supports the Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan’s distribution of much-needed of cash grants to enable affected families to meet their immediate needs.
Other relief items such as emergency shelter materials, first aid kits, hygiene products and household items are also being provided, in addition to psychological support. The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The conflict on the border took place on April 28 in the area of Golovnoy water distribution point. After that, it developed into the use of army units and heavy equipment. A number of border villages in Batken region were attacked. The parties finally agreed on the armistice and withdrawal of troops only on the evening of May 1.
In total, 190 Kyrgyzstanis suffered in the border conflict, 36 people were killed, including children. More than 40,000 people have been evacuated from the conflict zone. The Tajik side unofficially reported more than 150 wounded and about 16 dead.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kyrgyzstan, 120 houses and 84 social facilities have been destroyed, including a school, a village first-aid station, a kindergarten, a police station, four checkpoints, a medical center, a dental center, two pharmacies, a fire station, 27 gas filling stations, 34 shopping facilities, five canteens and three events halls.
The Prosecutor General’s Office began pre-trial proceedings under the article «Crime against Peace» of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic and assessed the actions of Tajikistan as a military invasion.
