Photo: uza.uz
Uzbek border guards have issued an official statement on the incident in which two Kyrgyz citizens were shot dead.
According to the press service of the Border Troops of Uzbekistan’s State Security Service (SSS), on August 15, near the Ugam-Chatkal Nature Reserve in the Bostanlyk district of Tashkent region, a border patrol spotted two unidentified men. The servicemen ordered them to stop, but they attempted to flee. After warning shots were fired into the air, the men continued moving toward the border, which, according to the SSS, forced the patrol to open fire. Both men sustained gunshot wounds and died despite efforts to provide them with first aid.
At the scene, a tent, food supplies, and three horses were found. Traces indicated a third person had been present, who managed to escape and, according to the commission, returned to Kyrgyz territory.
On August 31, Uzbek authorities identified the deceased as Kyrgyz citizens. That same day, their bodies were handed over to relatives at the Baymak border crossing. The border agencies of the two countries agreed to carry out a joint inspection of the site, which took place on September 2–3. The commission confirmed that the Kyrgyz men had violated the state border and that the actions of the Uzbek border patrol were lawful, carried out in accordance with national legislation.
Uzbekistan also announced readiness to return the men’s belongings — the tent and horses — to Kyrgyzstan. Both sides agreed to conduct joint outreach with residents of border areas and strengthen cooperation in border security.
News of the incident became public on August 25, when relatives from Chatkal district in Kyrgyzstan’s Jalal-Abad region reported two young men missing: 28-year-old Eldiyar Asylbek uulu and 23-year-old Bekzat Kurmanaly uulu. On August 28, border guards from the two countries met to discuss details of the case. On August 31, the men’s relatives traveled to Uzbekistan and confirmed their identities.
According to Kyrgyz MP Jailoobai Nyshanov, Asylbek uulu and Kurmanaly uulu may have crossed the border accidentally, as “this area of Chatkal district has not been demarcated and is not marked in any way.”
He added that on August 21 (while Uzbek authorities say the incident took place a week earlier), the men had gone in search of the rare plant arnebia (locally known as endik), listed in the Red Book. In recent years it has been in high demand, including among foreign buyers, and sells for 300 to 1,000 soms ($3.40–11.40) per kilogram. Nyshanov noted that residents of border mountain regions increasingly collect the plant for sale, despite the risks and the lack of clear border demarcation.
