Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan sign protocol to end border clashes

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have signed a protocol to end border clashes that claimed scores of lives, Kyrgyz media reported on Tuesday.

In line with earlier agreements on cease-fire and de-escalation, the deal signed late Monday envisions total termination of hostilities, withdrawal of troops and military equipment to their permanent duty stations, joint inspection of border outposts and command posts, and a thorough investigation of the armed clashes, according to AKIpress news agency.

The protocol was signed by Kyrgyzstan National Security Committee chairman Kamchibek Tashiev and his Tajik counterpart Saimumin Yatimov.

Clashes broke out at a disputed section of the border in Kyrgyztan's Batken region on Sept. 14, with the two sides later agreeing to a cease-fire.

But both sides accused each other of breaching the truce, and a state of emergency was declared in the region.

As the country observed a national day of mourning, Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov in a televised address on Monday said efforts continued to resolve the border issues peacefully.

Last week, Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon and Kyrgyztan's Japarov met at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and agreed to resolve the conflict via diplomacy.