Shooting on the Uzbek border kills two Kyrgyz citizens

An incident on the Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan border claimed the lives of two people. According to the Border Service of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbek border guards were forced to open fire on two citizens who did not comply with their demands.

According to reports, on August 25, it was announced that two residents of the village of Aygir-Jal in the Chatkal district had gone missing. During search operations, on August 28, at a working meeting, Uzbek border guards reported that on August 15 two unidentified individuals had been detected on their territory.

The official statement notes that these individuals did not comply with the order of the border patrol to stop. As a result, the border guards were forced to use weapons, and both citizens received fatal gunshot wounds.

On August 31, relatives of the missing men traveled to Uzbekistan and identified the deceased. On September 1, through the Baymak checkpoint, the bodies were handed over to the Kyrgyz side and taken to the morgue in the city of Kerben for examination.

It was also reported that the heads of the border agencies of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan agreed to conduct a joint investigation on site starting from September 2. In addition, the Uzbek side expressed its readiness to return the belongings of the deceased — three horses and a tent — to Kyrgyzstan.

Officials emphasized that this incident once again demonstrated the need to strengthen security measures on the border and to prevent such unfortunate cases in the future.