Kyrgyzstan braces up for mountain warfare - General Staff chief
BISHKEK. May 30 (Interfax) - The complicated regional conditions force Kyrgyzstan to brace up for a possible incursion of militants, General Staff Chief Aslanbek Alymkozhoev told a press conference on Friday.
"In the case of the international forces' pullout from Afghanistan, we do not rule out the appearance of a certain part of international terrorist organizations on our borders and we have to be prepared to fight back possible incursions," he said.
"We have broad and close relations with our foreign colleagues and we are using their assistance to train personnel for mountain warfare and deterrence of international terrorism and to improve our infrastructure," the General Staff chief said.
"We cannot afford to enlarge our armed forces, so we put an emphasis on the quality of training and control of service arms," Alymkozhoev said.
In turn, Kyrgyz Defense Minister Abibilla Kudayberdiev told the press conference the General Staff had drawn up plans "to protect the border with forces of the Defense Ministry, the Border Service and the National Guard."