BISHKEK, May 1. /TASS/. The situation on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is stable and is under the control of President Sadyr Japarov, secretariat of the Security Council of Kyrgyzstan announced on Saturday.
"As of 22:00 hours (19:00 Moscow time) on May 1, the situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik section of the state border in the Batken region is generally stable," the statement said. As noted, "the situation is under the control of the country's President Sadyr Japarov."
According to the Security Council, a working meeting was held between representatives of the defense ministries of the two countries, following which "a joint working group was created to control the withdrawal of forces and assets to the places of permanent deployment."
The situation on the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan near the Golovnoy water intake facility escalated on April 28, after clashes had sparked between residents of the two countries’ border areas. On April 29, armed skirmishes between Kyrgyz and Tajik servicemen broke out. Kyrgyzstan accused Tajikistan of using mortars, machine guns and Mi-24 military helicopters. On the evening of April 29, the sides agreed to a ceasefire and the pullout of troops, however, hostilities continued periodically in certain locations until May 1. On Saturday, at a meeting of representatives of the governments of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, the parties agreed to return military equipment to the places of permanent deployment.
According to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Health, as a result of the conflict on the border with Tajikistan, 34 residents of Kyrgyzstan were killed, about 140 were injured.