Uzbekistan returns shepherds and their cattle to neighboring Tajikistan
TASHKENT. Aug 5 (Interfax) - Uzbek border guards have turned five shepherds and a large herd of cattle over to Tajikistan.
A spokesman for the Border Guard Committee of Uzbekistan's National Security Service reported on Tuesday that the Tajik citizens had been detained for illegally crossing the two countries' border together with their 2,975 head of cattle.
"During a recent meeting, the Tajik side fully admitted that these citizens of Tajikistan crossed the state border of Uzbekistan without permission and allowed their cattle to graze on the territory of the republic. An act confirming this was signed with a representative of Tajikistan's Border Guard Service for the Panjakent sector," the spokesman said.
Furthermore, the Tajik Border Guard Service pledged to conduct regular awareness raising campaigns among the local population to prevent further illegal crossings of the Uzbek-Tajik border.
The spokesman also denied earlier news reports claiming that Uzbek border guards had allegedly detained Tajik citizens and had stolen their cattle from Tajik territory.
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan share a border 1,161 kilometers long.