Border guards from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan clashed on Wednesday following a border dispute between the two Central Asian states, officials from both sides said, cited by Reuters.

Russia has called on its Central Asian allies Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to take urgent measures to control the situation on the border between the two countries after the clashes that broke out at night, RIA Novosti reports with reference to a source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. .

The standoff, which came ahead of a meeting of the regional security body and amid hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, as well as between Azerbaijan and Armenia (Moscow’s military ally), began after Kyrgyz border police accused Tajiks of seizing positions on a section of the border that was not demarcated.

Both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are allies of Russia and host Russian military bases, but skirmishes over border issues are frequent and last year nearly led to all-out war between the former Soviet republics.

The Tajik side said in a statement that the Kyrgyz border police opened unprovoked fire with weapons and mortars on their outpost.

Border forces of Tajikistan reported that as a result of the incident, one border guard was killed and two others were injured, RIA Novosti reports.

There are currently no reports of casualties from Kyrgyzstan.

The leaders of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are expected to attend the Shanghai Security Organization summit in Uzbekistan this week, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, along with a host of other world leaders.

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