Tajiks living near the Afghan border are concerned about a recent increase in robberies, and claim that trespassing Afghans are to blame, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.
In the latest incident, in the village of Porshev in Badakhshan region, resident Saidmirzo Ibrohimbekov reported that he frightened away a would-be thief who was trying to steal saplings from his back yard. Ten minutes later, Ibrohimbekov said, a group of men toting machine guns and speaking in Dari with Afghan accents returned to the yard and absconded with the young trees.
Police in the village confirmed that the number of robberies in the region has increased in recent months, but they said that no suspects have been apprehended.
According to RFE/RL's Tajik Service, locals joke that the incidents are a sign of reconciliation in neighboring Afghanistan; only in times of peace do citizens have the luxury of making a cross-border plant-poaching trip.
In the latest incident, in the village of Porshev in Badakhshan region, resident Saidmirzo Ibrohimbekov reported that he frightened away a would-be thief who was trying to steal saplings from his back yard. Ten minutes later, Ibrohimbekov said, a group of men toting machine guns and speaking in Dari with Afghan accents returned to the yard and absconded with the young trees.
Police in the village confirmed that the number of robberies in the region has increased in recent months, but they said that no suspects have been apprehended.
According to RFE/RL's Tajik Service, locals joke that the incidents are a sign of reconciliation in neighboring Afghanistan; only in times of peace do citizens have the luxury of making a cross-border plant-poaching trip.