From: Abraham Rein (ARein@sorosny.org)
Date: Wed Aug 23 2000 - 10:58:22 EDT
SPORADIC FIGHTING CONTINUES ON KYRGYZ BORDERS WITH
TAJIKISTAN, UZBEKISTAN. Kyrgyz forces repelled an attempt by
Islamic militants to enter Kyrgyz territory near the Rabat
and Kur-Bakaa border posts early on 22 August, RFE/RL's
Bishkek bureau reported, quoting a Kyrgyz Interior Ministry
official. He said intermittent exchanges of fire continued
during the day. The previous day, a group of some 15 Islamic
militants entered Uzbek territory from Kyrgyzstan near the
Bostanlyk border post some 100 kilometers east of Tashkent,
where they clashed with Uzbek government troops, killing at
least two and taking several more hostage, Interfax and AFP
reported. People vacationing at holiday camps in the vicinity
have been evacuated. Local officials in Kyrgyzstan's
Djalalabad Oblast, the only Kyrgyz oblast that borders on
Tashkent Oblast, said there have been no clashes along that
stretch of the border for one or two days. A Tajik border
official told ITAR-TASS on 22 August that no movements of
armed groups have been registered recently on either the
Tajik-Kyrgyz or Tajik-Uzbek border. LF
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