Uzbekistan’s border guards confirmed that they shot dead two Kyrgyz citizens who had crossed the border illegally.
On August 15, in the border zone near the Ugam-Chatkal Nature Reserve in Bostanlyk district of Tashkent region, Uzbek border patrol noticed two unidentified individuals. The border guards ordered them to stop, but they tried to escape.
“In accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, several warning shots were fired into the air. However, the unidentified individuals did not comply with the lawful demands of the border patrol and continued moving toward the State border. After that, as a last resort, weapons were used against them,” the Border Troops of the State Security Service of Uzbekistan said in a statement on September 4.
As a result, both men sustained gunshot wounds and died at the scene despite receiving first aid from the servicemen. At the site, a tent, food supplies, and three horses were found, as well as traces of a third person who managed to escape.
On August 25, Kyrgyz police received a report about the disappearance of two residents of Aygyr-Zhal village in Chatkal district of Jalal-Abad region.
On August 28, during a working meeting, representatives of the Uzbek side stated that in the area where the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan converge, shots were fired while attempting to detain unknown citizens. According to them, the injuries sustained were incompatible with life.
On August 31, relatives of the missing Kyrgyz citizens traveled to Uzbekistan and confirmed the identities of the deceased. On September 1, through the Baymak checkpoint, the bodies of the two Kyrgyz citizens were handed over to the Kyrgyz side and transported to the morgue in Kerben for examination.
The Kyrgyz Border Service expressed deep concern over the incident and stated that a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the citizens’ deaths was underway, with results to be made public.
By agreement between the heads of the border agencies of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, a joint inspection of the site began on September 2. The Uzbek side expressed readiness to hand over the belongings of the deceased to Kyrgyzstan, including three horses and the tent.
Following the inspection, the Uzbek side declared that the actions of the border patrol were carried out in accordance with Uzbekistan’s legislation, that the Kyrgyz citizens had violated the State border, and that the third person had managed to escape back into Kyrgyzstan. An agreement was reached to establish his identity and take appropriate measures.
“In order to prevent similar incidents, both sides agreed to conduct outreach with the population of border areas and to strengthen cooperation in guarding difficult mountainous sections of the border,” the statement of Uzbekistan’s Border Troops said.
International standards and human rights practice stipulate that unarmed border violators should be detained and brought before the court. The use of lethal force in such cases is considered excessive, contradicting humanitarian principles and the spirit of good neighborliness. Nevertheless, in a number of countries, cases of using weapons against unarmed border violators have been recorded, which consistently provokes sharp criticism from the international community.