Uzbekistan Claims Kazakh Villagers Abducted Guard
May 04, 2006
PRAGUE, May 4, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Uzbek border authorities today said that a group of Kazakh villagers beat two Uzbek border guards, and then abducted one of them.
The Uzbek State Border Committee says the villagers attacked the two guards after they tried to prevent the group from illegally crossing into Uzbekistan.
The Uzbek statement follows a Kazakh statement on May 3 that said Kazakh guards had detained an Uzbek guard who had chased a Kazakh youth back into Kazakhstan.
This is the second such incident on the Uzbek-Kazakh border in recent weeks.
In April, Kazakhstan officially protested an incident that saw Uzbek border guards crossing into Kazakhstan to beat and abduct a Kazakh shepherd.