Tajikistan’s security forces on Sunday said they had “neutralised” four militants who crossed into the country from neighbouring Afghanistan, as deadly incidents continue to rise along the volatile border between the two countries.
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According to Tajik security services quoted by the state-run Khovar news agency, the individuals were killed in the southern Khatlon region after refusing to surrender their weapons.
Tajikistan shares a rugged, mountainous border of around 1,350 kilometres with Afghanistan and has reported at least five deadly incidents along the frontier since November. An AFP tally based on official data shows that at least 16 people have been killed during this period.
Those killed include Tajik border guards, Chinese nationals working in the region, as well as individuals described by authorities as smugglers and militants.
Following attacks on Chinese workers in November, Dushanbe urged Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to take concrete steps to curb cross-border militancy and prevent further destabilisation in the region, which is known for drug trafficking and the presence of armed groups.
Unlike several other Central Asian states that have moved to improve relations with the Taliban, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon has remained openly critical of Afghanistan’s rulers. He has repeatedly called on the Taliban to respect the rights of ethnic Tajiks, who are estimated to make up about a quarter of Afghanistan’s population.
Despite political tensions, Tajikistan has also pursued limited cooperation with Kabul, including electricity exports, the reopening of border markets and meetings between Taliban representatives and local Tajik officials.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated further after five Chinese nationals were killed and several others injured in two separate attacks near the Afghan border in late November and early December.
A United Nations report released in December said that the militant group Jamaat Ansarullah maintains fighters across multiple regions of Afghanistan and aims to destabilise Tajikistan. Tajik authorities have also repeatedly expressed concern about the presence of Daesh’s Khorasan affiliate in Afghanistan.
