The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has announced that, due to rising insecurity along Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan, it will provide weapons and military equipment to Tajik border forces.
The Russia-led organization said that on Friday, January 30, following an increase in armed clashes in border areas, it decided to strengthen the capacity of Tajik border troops to prevent the infiltration of armed groups and smugglers from Afghan territory.
Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted CSTO Secretary-General Talatbek Masadykov as saying that the process of identifying the required list of weapons and military equipment has begun and that member states are coordinating to supply them.
According to Masadykov, the list of weapons, military equipment, and technical tools for border protection is being finalized, and the suppliers of this equipment will also be determined.
He added that contracts related to this military assistance are currently under review and negotiation.
The decision comes as, on January 29, Tajik security forces clashed with a group of suspected drug traffickers in the Khatlon region.
Three people were killed in the clash, and a significant quantity of weapons, ammunition, and narcotics, including cannabis and opium, was seized.
According to reports, armed confrontations along the Tajikistan–Afghanistan border have increased in recent months.
Previously, attacks attributed to militants killed five Chinese workers in border areas, an incident that led to the temporary suspension of some Chinese infrastructure projects in the region.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization is composed of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
This comes as the Taliban have repeatedly claimed that no threat to neighboring countries originates from Afghan territory.
