Soldiers shot dead two Kyrgyz on the Uzbek border

On August 15, two Kyrgyz citizens were killed in an exchange of fire with Uzbek soldiers on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. The actions of the border guards who opened fire were deemed lawful, the Border Troops of the State Border Service reported on September 4.

According to the report, on the day of the incident, two unidentified individuals were spotted in the border area near the Ugam-Chatkal reserve in Bostanlyk district of the Tashkent region. The border guards ordered them to stop, but they attempted to flee. Warning shots were fired into the air to halt them, yet they ignored the commands and continued moving toward the State Border. As a last resort, weapons were used against them.

The two men sustained injuries and died at the scene, despite attempts by military personnel to provide first aid. During an inspection of the area, authorities found one tent, three horses, food supplies, and traces of a third person who had managed to escape.

The border services of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan were notified of the incident the same day.

On August 31, the deceased were confirmed to be Kyrgyz citizens, and their bodies were handed over to relatives. By mutual agreement between the heads of the border services of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, a joint inspection of the site was conducted on September 2-3.

The investigation concluded that the actions of the border guards were in line with Uzbek law. It was established that the Kyrgyz citizens had violated the State Border, while the third person managed to return to Kyrgyzstan and evade capture. Both sides agreed to identify him and take appropriate measures.

It is worth noting that earlier, operatives of the State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan, together with border guards, carried out an operation to detain Afghan drug traffickers, during which a shootout occurred that left two offenders dead.