Uzbekistan, on Wednesday, expelled over 50 Afghan army troops who sought refuge on the Uzbek border after fleeing an attack by the Taliban. It is the second incident in less than a week when Afghan soldiers fled to their Central Asian neighbours seeking safety from the Taliban.
The Uzbek Foreign Ministry released a statement on Thursday stating that “53 soldiers of the Afghan border troops and local militiamen with weapons” crossed over to the Shortepa district in northern Uzbekistan. The Ministry added that after “necessary inquiry and investigative actions, the soldiers were sent back to Afghanistan.”
“Any attempts to illegally cross into the Uzbek territory will be severely suppressed, and strict measures will be taken against violators of the state border,” the Ministry warned. It also underscored Uzbekistan’s “commitment” to maintaining friendly relations with Afghanistan and its maintenance of “neutrality and non-interference in the internal affairs” of its neighbours.
In light of the incident, the Uzbek Defence Ministry began unscheduled inspections of the combat readiness of its military forces on Thursday. The Defence Ministry press service said different military units would take part in upcoming tactical exercises to assess the troops’ alertness and battle preparedness.
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On Tuesday, around 130 Afghan troops entered Tajikistan while escaping a deadly assault by the Taliban militants. Reports suggested that the Taliban had captured the Shir Khan Bandar border crossing, connecting Tajikistan and Afghanistan, on the same day.
Meanwhile, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a phone conversation with his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon on Wednesday to discuss the deteriorating situation along their borders with Afghanistan. Both leaders expressed concerns about the “sharp escalation of the situation in the northern and north-eastern regions of this country”, which could lead to “an increase in tensions and negatively affects the overall regional security.” In this respect, Mirziyoyev and Rahmon “underscored the need to continue close dialogue and coordination of efforts to ensure security and stability, strengthen good-neighbourliness in the region.”
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The decision of the United States (US) administration led by President Joe Biden to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks has encouraged the Taliban to conduct a military offensive against the Afghan government. On Tuesday, the United Nations (UN) envoy to Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, said 50 of Afghanistan’s 370 districts had been captured by the Taliban since May. Lyons warned that most districts captured by the Taliban surround provincial capitals, suggesting that the militants are “positioning themselves to try and take these capitals once foreign forces are fully withdrawn.” Such a situation could spell disaster for the fledgling Afghan democracy and completely derail the gains made over the years in human rights.