Kyrgyzstan And Tajikistan:
A ceasefire on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan appeared to be held after a day of intense fighting between the two countries that have killed about 40 people and wounded about 175.
- Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan belong to the central Asia region. Other countries of the region are Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
- Both nations have claimed the area around the water supply facility in Kok-Tash, a dispute dating back decades to when they were both parts of the Soviet Union.
- The current configuration of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border is the product of Soviet mapmakers drawing the dividing lines for Soviet republics after the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) collapsed in late 1991.
- The meandering boundary between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan is particularly tense as over a third of its 1,000-km length is disputed. Restrictions on access to land and water that communities regard as theirs have often led to deadly clashes in the past.
- Russia and European Union (EU) welcomed the ceasefire deal and emphasized the need for a lasting and peaceful solution.
