Tajikistan was preparing for aggression in advance, and the security services of Kyrgyzstan were aware of it. Secretary of the Security Council of Kyrgyzstan, Marat Imankulov, said at a press conference.
He noted that the armed conflict at the Kyrgyz-Tajik border did not begin on September 16, but on September 14.
«Exchange of fire between the border detachments began on September 14 at 8.10 a.m. Three days before the incident, Kyrgyz border guards warned their colleagues not to enter disputed sections of the border. There was an agreement. But the Tajik side, having violated it, provoked the shooting. Then the border guards of the Republic of Tajikistan used mortars, shelling civilian objects as well,» Marat Imankulov said.
According to Imankulov, before the incident, the security services of Kyrgyzstan reported that the Tajik side, allegedly under the pretext of celebration of the Independence Day of the Republic of Tajikistan, which is on September 9, was conducting provocative preparations.
«They began to strengthen the borders, gather additional forces, dig trenches. We saw signs of potential aggression and were ready, as we learned a great lesson from last year’s attack by Tajikistan on Batken region,» Secretary of the Security Council said.
Emergency situation has been introduced in Batken region. Shooting began at several sites of the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on the morning of September 16. Settlements in Leilek and Batken district came under fire. The Ministry of Health reported 163 victims, 59 people were killed. As a result of the armed conflict on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, residents of seven villages in Batken and Leilek districts, as well as Dzhekendi village in Chon-Alai district of Osh region, left their homes.
By the decree of the President Sadyr Japarov, September 19, 2022 was declared a Day of National Mourning in the Kyrgyz Republic.
