The Human Rights Movement "Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan" and the partner network People Changing the World appeal to the international community of the UN, OSCE, EU to help stop the military aggression by Tajikistan in the border zones of Kyrgyzstan,

in the Batken oblast.

Today, on 16 September 2022, Tajikistan has repeatedly carried out a military invasion into the border areas of the Batken oblast of Kyrgyzstan.  The firefight that began on 14 September 2022 on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border in the localities of Bulak-Bashy, Kak-Sai and Pasky-Aryk escalated on 16 September into shelling of border guards and positions of the Kyrgyz side, later border outposts and border villages in the Leilek and Batken districts were fired from mortars. 

By 4 p.m., the number of victims reached 42 people. In Leilek, a 15-year-old girl, resident of the village of Dostuk, Elzada Malik kyzy, died from a shrapnel wound[1]. The media also reported the death of a 9-year-old girl. The evacuation of women and children from all near-border settlements started in the morning.

According to the Border Service of the SCNS, the Tajik side attacked border and civilian facilities along the entire perimeter of the Kyrgyz-Tajik state border in the Batken district.  The Kyrgyz Border Service said that the vicinity of the Batken airport and facilities on the outskirts of the city were shelled by Tajik multiple rocket launchers. Objects of the civil infrastructure of the city of Batken have been destroyed[2].

The Human Rights Movement "Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan" and the partner network People Changing the World oppose the military aggression of Tajikistan and the use of indiscriminate force against civilians and objects!

During the military aggression in April 2021, the HRM "Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan", together with FIDH, declared the unacceptability of the use of explosive weapons with a wide radius of destruction in large and small settlements due to the indiscriminate nature of such weapons, which exposes civilians to great danger and is prohibited by international humanitarian law (IHL). 

IHL also prohibits attacks directed against civilians or facilities. Our organizations are fully convinced that indiscriminate attacks on the civilian population and the destruction of civilian infrastructure on the border territories of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are unjustified and constitute a gross violation of IHL and international human rights law. Tajikistan's invasion of Kyrgyzstan and military aggression on the sovereign territory are a gross violation of international law and the obligations assumed by the UN member States.

Despite the publication of information about the agreement of the heads of the national security bodies of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on a ceasefire, we call on the international community, the UN and the OSCE to use all international mechanisms to stop the military aggression of the military forces of the Republic of Tajikistan against Kyrgyzstan!

We reiterate the need to implement the recommendations issued jointly with FIDH during the conflict in 2021[3]and call on the parties of the armed conflict to:

• observe the ceasefire and make civilians’ security a priority in conflict resolution, ensure equal participation of local communities in conflict resolution processes;
• provide the necessary humanitarian assistance to the victims and their families, including all those who were displaced from their homes due to significant threats to their lives and health, paying special attention to women, children and other vulnerable groups;
• conduct an investigation to identify those responsible for civilian casualties, destruction of civilian objects and other violations of IHL.

We call on the international community to:

• participate in negotiations between the parties to the conflict to de-escalate tensions, taking into account the consent of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan;
• provide humanitarian assistance to the local population at risk in order to prevent further civilian casualties;
• launch the OSCE Moscow mechanism and/or the UN and EU international mechanisms to investigate violations of IHL and human rights law on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, including crimes in May 2021 that resulted in human casualties, including the death of a 12-year-old girl;
• call on Kyrgyzstan to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Human Rights Movement "Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan" and partner network People Changing the World.

Email: birduinokyrgyzstan@gmail.com, tel.: +996 312 317671, 0550184095