Kyrgyzstan reports fresh clashes on border with Tajikistan: agencies

Kyrgyzstan's border force reported fresh clashes on its border with Tajikistan throughout Wednesday following an overnight firefight which left at least one dead, Russian news agencies reported citing officials.

The two landlocked Central Asian nations - both formerly part of the Soviet Union and which remain allies of Russia - have had strained relations for years and border skirmishes are not uncommon.

Tajikistan said one of its border guards had died in the overnight clashes, with others injured.

Holy shit, this is really unravelling for Putin. There's blood in the water.

Yesterday, Azerbaijan and Armenia kicked off. Now, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Will Putin be able to put out these fires? https://t.co/pLzaPni0Xc

— Zoya Sheftalovich (@zoyashef) September 14, 2022

Throughout Wednesday, Kyrgyzstan's border service continued to report new firefights at points along its border with Tajikistan in the country's western Batken region. Russian news agencies, citing the border service, reported clashes at around 1400 (0800 GMT) and 1510 (0910 GMT) local time.

"The situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik section of the state border is tense. Border delegations of the two countries continue negotiations," Russian news agencies quoted the Kyrgyz state border service as saying in a statement.

The exchange of fire comes just a day after renewed fighting broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan - in which at least 99 service personnel from both sides were killed - in the latest flare-up of one of the many regional disputes between former Soviet states across the Caucasus and Central Asia.