Bishkek, Tashkent to discuss border incident in which Uzbek servicemen died
BISHKEK. July 24 (Interfax) - Border agencies of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have agreed to meet and to discuss an incident involving arms, which took place on July 23, the Kyrgyz State Border Service external affairs department told Interfax on Wednesday.
Kyrgyz State Border Service Chairman Kurmanakun Matenov has interrupted his trip to the Kyrgyz State Border Service detachments and units deployed in the Batken Province and has arrived to the Jalal-Abad border unit, the department said.
"It is planned that today, on July 24, the head of the Kyrgyz border agency will meet with Uzbek National Security Service Commander, Colonel Rustam Iminzhanov, to discuss the border incident, which happened on Tuesday, July 23, at the Jalal-Abad border unit area in the Aksy District's Jetizagar," the department said.
The department said an Uzbek border unit illegally entered Kyrgyzstan and provoked an exchange of gunfire with the Kyrgyz border unit in response to the demand to leave. One Uzbek border guard died and another was injured in the shooting. The injured man later died in hospital. No Kyrgyz border guards were injured.
At the same, Tashkent said that the Kyrgyz border service command had officially apologized for the actions of its subordinates and the death of the Uzbek border guards in the border incident, the press office of the Uzbek National Security Service border committee said on Wednesday.
According to the press office, regional border officials met on July 23 in the Uichi District of the Namangan Province (Fergana Valley) where the incident occurred.