© Reuters Kyrgyz President Sadir Japarov and Tajik President Emomali Rakmon attend a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
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BISHKEK (Reuters) – Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan reported no major overnight incidents on Saturday, indicating a ceasefire was in place after intense Friday fighting, although Kyrgyz border guards said a village was briefly under fire.
The two former Soviet republics this week accused each other of using tanks, mortars, rocket launchers and drones to attack nearby settlements over a border dispute.
The border issue in Central Asia mostly stems from the Soviet era when Moscow tried to divide the area between other ethnic groups.
Kyrgyzstan, which reported 24 dead and dozens wounded on Friday, said a border village was hit by mortars Saturday after a five-minute night of silence.
Tajikistan has not released any official death toll, but security sources said at least seven people were killed on Friday. Tajik border guards said in a statement on Friday that several Tajik villages had been hit by Kyrgyz helicopters and drones.
Tajik security sources said security officials from both sides continued talks on Saturday to resolve the conflict.