Since gaining independence, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have been at odds over the demarcation of their shared border, which stems from a lack of clarity established during the Soviet era—a source of numerous tensions among all Central Asian countries. This border crisis in the region is notable for its duration and the significant military and civilian casualties resulting from numerous deadly clashes, the most recent of which in 2021 and 2022 took on a new dimension. The Tajik-Kyrgyz conflict is characterized by the primacy of water issues and, more generally, the management of natural resources as a source of tension. However, two years and three months later, on December 4, 2024, the two countries—through their respective chairmen of the State Committees for National Security—declared the crisis resolved with the complete demarcation of their shared border, symbolically bringing an end to the longest-running Central Asian border conflict. The first of these began in 1974, stemming from the Kyrgyz population’s claim to territories that had been developed by Tajik authorities over the previous 10 years. According to several sources, on December 31, 1974, a group of Kyrgyz citizens attacked the Tajik enclave of Vorukh with automatic weapons, causing no casualties.

While the conflict of April 2021 marked a turning point with the use of heavy military equipment due to the direct involvement of the armed forces of both countries, the armed conflict of September 2022 remains to this day the most significant, involving the full deployment of both armies’ military resources and an outburst of violence resulting in an unprecedented number of casualties. Starting in 2021, the border dispute—previously linked mainly to the management of natural resources—escalated as clashes between civilian populations became a national and security issue for both armies, preventing any de-escalation. The year 2022 began in January with skirmishes between border guards that continued into March, killing two civilians. These incidents demonstrate the two countries’ inability to resolve their differences. Tensions have now reached a point of no return. A new skirmish on September 14 at 7:15 a.m. triggers the conflict, which some analysts have described as deliberate due to the failure to adhere to protocols. On the first day of the conflict, there are two deaths and 11 injuries. From September 16 to 17, despite the announcement of a ceasefire, the conflict spread across the entire disputed border.

This conflict is unfolding even as the two presidents are meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. On September 17, the ceasefire held until it was broken at 11:50 a.m. A new meeting between the two presidents of the State Committees for National Security—Saimumin Yatimov for Tajikistan and Kamchybek Tachiev for Kyrgyzstan—at 7:00 p.m. brought the conflict to a definitive end. On September 20, a new meeting between Saimumin Yatimov and Kamchybek Tachiev led to the signing of a new Protocol No. 42, stating that “the demarcation of borders should be resolved in a spirit of good neighborliness and mutual understanding.” The final death toll remains a subject of debate due to each country’s desire to be seen as the victor in the clashes. In its latest report, Human Rights Watch confirms the deaths of at least 37 people, 36 injured, and 130,000 displaced. In its investigation, Radiozodi recorded 83 deaths on the Tajik side, including both military personnel and civilians, and on the Kyrgyz side, 63 deaths and more than 200 injured.