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Thirty-six people killed on border with Tajikistan, Kyrgyz health ministry reports

According to the ministry, 129 people were also injured

© AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin, archive

BISHKEK, September 18./TASS/. The death toll from clashes on the border with Tajikistan has grown to 36, Kyrgyzstan’s health ministry specified on Sunday.

"As of 10:00 a.m. (07:00 Moscow time - TASS), health agencies in the Batken Region received 12 more bodies, according to updated data received from the Batken Region. The total number of deaths as a result of the armed conflict in the Batken Region is 36," the ministry said.

According to the Ministry of Health, 129 people were also injured, of whom will have outpatient treatment.

Earlier, the Kyrgyz emergencies ministry reported that 37 people had been killed in skirmishes on the border with Tajikistan. According to the ministry, the region has received 177 tonnes of humanitarian aid and another 160 tonnes are expected to arrive from Bishkek.

Tensions rose on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border on September 14. According to Bishkek, Tajik border guards crossed the border in the Bulak-Bashy area of Kyrgyzstan’s Batken District on Wednesday and "took up combat positions." In response to Kyrgyz troops’ demand to leave the territory, Tajik border guards opened fire and a shootout ensued. Armed clashes later took place in the Kak-Sai and Pasky-Aryk areas of the Batken Region. Shoutout ceased later that evening. On Saturday, the Kyrgyz border guard service for the first time reported the shelling of the Osh Region, previously all incidents had been reported from a border section in the Batken Region.

Kyrgyz authorities evacuated over 136,000 citizens amid clashes. A state of emergency was declared in the Batken Region.

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