Russia offers military support to secure Tajik-Afghan border

Kabul/Moscow, July 6

Russia’s military base in Tajikistan is fully equipped to help secure its border with Afghanistan, and Moscow will take extra measures to protect it if needed, Interfax quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying on Tuesday.

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon on Monday ordered the mobilisation of 20,000 military reservists to bolster the border with Afghanistan after more than 1,000 Afghan security personnel fled across the frontier in response to Taliban militant advances.

Meanwhile, a surge of Taliban wins in northern Afghanistan has caused some countries to close their north Afghan consulates, while across the border in Tajikistan reservists are being called up to reinforce its southern border, according to officials and reports on Tuesday.

A statement on Monday from the Tajik government said President Emomali Rakhmon had ordered the mobilisation of 20,000 military reservists to strengthen its border with Afghanistan.

The Afghan military exodus comes as Taliban overrun most districts in northeastern Badakhshan province. Many of the districts collapsed without a fight but along the province’s northern border with Tajikistan, hundreds of Afghan National Security and Defense Forces crossed the border seeking safety. The consulates of Turkey and Russia have reportedly closed in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, and Afghanistan’s fourth-largest city. Iran said it has restricted activities at its consulate in the city. There has been fighting in Balkh province, but the provincial capital has been relatively peaceful. The consulates of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, India and Pakistan have reduced their services, Balkh provincial Governor’s spokesman Munir Farhad said Tuesday. He said Turkey and Russia had closed their consulates and their diplomats had left the city. The Tajik government said Afghan troops were being allowed to cross on humanitarian grounds but the border posts on the Tajik side were in control of Tajik forces and there was no fighting with Taliban from the Tajik side.

Moscow weighted in on Monday with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying there was “heightened concern” over the fighting but Russia had no plans to send troops to assist its former republic. “We have repeatedly said many times that after the withdrawal of the Americans and their allies from Afghanistan, the development of the situation in this country is a matter of our heightened concern,” Peskov said. “We’re monitoring it very closely and are noting that destabilisation (of the situation) is taking place, unfortunately.” Meanwhile, Tajikistan’s state news agency Khovar counted 1,037 Afghan military personnel who entered Tajikistan while fleeing for their lives. It said Monday they used seven of the crossings along the countries’ shared 910-kilometer (565-mile) border. Agencies

Will Fortify base if need be

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would help the former Soviet republic contend with the fallout from NATO’s exit. Russia, which operates one of its largest military bases abroad in Tajikistan, would help stabilise the border with Afghanistan if need be.

Taliban victories shut consulates

• A surge of Taliban wins in northern Afghanistan has caused some countries to close their north Afghan consulates.
• Across the border in Tajikistan, reservists are being called up to reinforce its southern border, according to officials and reports on Tuesday. AP

Indian embassy in Kabul junks closure reports

• The Indian Embassy in Afghanistan on Tuesday described as “incorrect” reports saying India was shutting its diplomatic missions in the country.
• The embassy tweeted it was closely monitoring the security situation, particularly around Kandahar and Mazar. PTI