Conflict at the border with Tajikistan has become a great tragedy for the Kyrgyzstanis. September 19, 2022 was the Day of Mourning for those who died from the aggression of the Republic of Tajikistan. As a result of the armed attack on Kyrgyz lands, 62 people were killed and 198 were injured. Hundreds of thousands of people living in the border area were forced to leave their villages for safe places. Women, children, old people ran out of their homes in what they were — they did not have time to pack their things and take documents. Some people have returned seven days after the conflict, but most remain far from home in fear for their lives.

24.kg news agency will tell the stories of people who have been in the thick of things. The names of the people have been changed for their safety.

Aigul Isakova (name changed. — Note of 24.kg news agency) lives in a military town in Batken region. Her husband works at the Border Service of the State Committee for National Security, so the young woman is used to evacuation. But this time it was different...

The servicemen were put on alert in the evening of September 14. The situation stabilized the next day and Aigul did not leave. People had to leave their homes in a hurry in the early morning of September 16.

«My children and I had to be evacuated for the first time in January 2022. I went to Batken together with other women. We stayed there at friends’ houses. After a while it was said that everything calmed down and we returned home the next day. On September 16, at about six in the morning, the siren sounded again. My husband left for work, and then we were told to pack things and documents. I thought that, like last time, we would return the next day maximum. As soon as we went outside, explosions were heard,» the woman told.

«Two or three hours later the owner of the house, who sheltered us, advised us to leave. They gave us five liters of gasoline, there were terrible traffic jams on the roads. We reached the village of Chechme, Kadamdzhai district, through Uzbekistan. There were two pregnant women among the evacuees. They were about to give birth. We wanted them to stay close to the hospital in case they went into labor. I did not call my husband not to disturb him. I worry about him. We talk when he calls. I am in Kyzyl-Kiya now,» Aigul told.

I get onto WhatsApp each time only to see the «online» sign in the chat with my husband and make sure that he is fine.

Aigul Isakova

Kasiyet Aitalieva is 92 years old. She fled with her daughter-in-law, grandchildren and daughter from Kulundu village in Leilek district to Kara-Bulak.

«On September 16, we left our village in a truck. It’s not the first time we’ve run away from our home. We didn’t have time to take anything with us, as the Tajiks began shelling our village,» she said.

Another resident of Kulundu village, Burulai Pusurmankulova, told that she had evacuated with five family members. The woman does not know when she will return home, because the village is still unsafe.

«On September 16, at seven in the morning, we wanted to send the children to school. When the shelling began, we did not have time to pack our things. The women fled in what they were, they only put on shoes. We even left the documents,» she recalls.

Burulai, along with other villagers, was accommodated in Kara-Bulak village. Several more women with children were in the truck in which she fled together with her family.

«My family consists of seven people, six fled. The son remained in the village. We live near the border with Tajikistan. Every time a conflict starts, we have to run. We keep in touch with our son by phone. We don’t know how long we will be here,» she said.

Previously, we were friends with the Tajiks, went to the market, bought food from each other. The Tajiks treated us well, and so did we. Now we don’t have any relationship.

Burulai Pusurmankulova

Maksatai Almazbekova also came from Kulundu village to Kara-Bulak. On September 16, the woman sent her children to school. First, shots were heard, and then the street began to be bombed from mortars.

«The school was shelled in Kulundu. Having no time to pack up, we got into a Hyundai Porter, and then it took eight hours to get to another village. About 20 people were in the truck. It has never happened in Kulundu. We live 500 meters from the border. The husband stayed in the village, he said that he would not go anywhere. Men help the soldiers, someone has to watch the border. For two days in a row, my husband calls via video link, saying that the situation is stabilizing,» the woman says.

Abdikarim Martabaev and his family came to Razzakov town. He lives in Zhashtyk village, Leilek district, near the Tajik border.

«First we ran to the mountains. We didn’t even have time to lock the doors. Five hours later, we got into a car with our neighbors and left for Margun village. There was no longer any space — evacuees were accommodated in all the houses. After spending the night, we had to go to Razzakov. I have three children, the youngest is two and a half years old. The house was destroyed, a shell hit it,» the man told.

Paizylda Baimyrzaev lives in International village. He is one of the few who decided to stay in the village on the day of the armed attack.

«I was born and raised here, I’m not going to go anywhere. My house was damaged — the ceiling was completely destroyed by mortars. There was an unexploded shell in the garden, then it was liquidated by sappers. I read namaz on September 16. At about eight in the morning, my family and I were going to have a breakfast, and at that moment they began to bomb us. The Tajik military fired continuously. The family was evacuated, and I fled to the field and spent the night there,» Baimyrzaev told.

The man returned home the next day, when the shelling stopped for a while.

I was in the field where everything was visible. Kyrgyz villages Kulundu, Lenin, Ak-Aryk, Bulak-Bashy, International and Maksat were shelled simultaneously. They were bombed. The Tajik military fired from mortars, machine guns, attacked with volley guns.

Paizylda Baimyrzaev

The resident of International village noted that this is not the first time that a conflict on the border has occurred, but there has never been such a fierce battle.

«There were also conflicts before, of course, but everything calmed down in an hour or two. This time it’s much worse. On September 16, the shooting stopped at about 8 p.m. When I returned home in the morning, I saw that my village had been destroyed. Unexploded shells are still found here. The Tajik people are always the first to shoot, and then they blame us for this,» Paizylda Baimyrzaev complained.

The local resident is sure that there could be mercenaries among those who shelled his village.

«Everything was fine before. We went to neighbors, and Tajiks came to visit us. 50 percent of the people from the area, with which we border, left for Russia. Most likely, there were mercenaries among those who fired at us. I live at the border all my life long and will not give our lands to anyone. I urge the youth to do the same,» the man says.

Emergency situation has been introduced in Batken region. Shooting began at several sites of the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on the morning of September 16. Settlements in Leilek and Batken district came under fire. The Ministry of Health reported 198 victims, 62 people were killed. As a result of the armed conflict on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, residents of seven villages in Batken and Leilek districts, as well as Dzhekendi village in Chon-Alai district of Osh region, left their homes.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Kyrgyzstan opened a criminal case on crimes against peace.