Kyrgyzstan announced on Friday that three of its citizens were killed on Thursday after Uzbek soldiers opened fire on a section of the disputed border between the two Central Asian countries.
Border disputes have been frequent between the two former Soviet republics since their independence three decades ago. Officials in their claims refer to various maps of the Soviet era.
The National Security Committee said in a statement that they “succumbed to wounds sustained in the shootout,” adding that the incident took place on Thursday.
This is the most serious incident that has occurred on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan over the past few years.
The statement says that representatives of the border services of the two countries immediately got in touch and agreed to conduct an investigation. According to the statement, a meeting between the two is expected on Friday.
Kyrgyzstan did not specify whether the dead were civilians or border guards.
Smuggling is a problem in the area, and there are frequent clashes between border residents over livestock pasture and water resources.
Border authorities could not be contacted for comment.
Bilateral relations between the two neighbors have often been tense, but have improved since the death of hardline Uzbek President Islam Karimov in 2016.
His successor, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, sought to improve relations with his neighbors.
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement last year to settle the border dispute, but it was not ratified after Kyrgyzstan expressed dissatisfaction with the provisions that ensured the use of the Uzbek side of the reservoir located on the territory of Kyrgyzstan.
The most serious conflict in Central Asia currently rages on Kyrgyzstan’s border with Tajikistan, where dozens of people were killed in unprecedented clashes involving army units last year.
