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Some 120,000 people evacuated from zone of conflict with Tajikistan — Kyrgyz authorities

The area's overall population is about 400,000 people

BISHKEK, September 16. /TASS/. Kyrgyzstan’s authorities have evacuated around 120,000 people from the area of the armed conflict on the border with Tajikistan, first deputy presidential envoy to the Batken region Marufkhan Tulayev said on Friday.

"Around 120,000 residents of the Batken region were evacuated to safer areas," he said, adding that necessary assistance is being provided to these people.

The Batken region’s overall population is about 400,000 people.

The Red Cross mission to the republic said earlier that some 18,000 people has been evacuated.

According to the Kyrgyz side, its border units in the areas of Eki-Tash, Chyr-Dobo, Kum-Mazar, Kulundu, Maksat, Zhany-Zher and Orto-Boz as well as at the Samarkandek outpost came under shelling from Tajik territory on Friday morning. Strikes were also delivered at the regional center of Batken and its airport from multiple rocket launchers.

The situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border escalated on September 14. The Kyrgyz side said that on Wednesday Tajik border guards had penetrated into a border section near Bulak-Bashy in Kyrgyzstan’s Batken region and "took combat positions." In response to the demand to leave the area, the Tajik border guards opened fire triggering a shootout. Several hour lated, armed clashes were reported in the areas of Kak-Sai and Paksy-Aryk. Shootouts stopped by the evening. The Kyrgyz side reported that two soldiers and three civilians had been wounded.