Dushanbe, 17 September 1997 (RFE/RL) - A Tajik opposition commander has released 25 captured government troops as a goodwill measure aimed at consolidating the country's peace process.
ITAR-TASS today quotes the Russian ambassador to Tajikistan, Yevgeny Belov, as saying Mirzodzhag Ziyev had freed the soldiers yesterday in the eastern Tavildar region.
A Russian embassy diplomat in Dushanbe, Azim Yarokhmetov, told Reuters six ethnic Russians were among the freed captives.
The former combatants have exchanged several dozen prisoners in recent weeks. Also, ex-rebel leaders have arrived in Dushanbe to participate in a National Reconciliation Commission. The commission is part of the June peace accord that brought a formal end to Tajikistan's four-year conflict.
But around 300 opposition fighters are still believed to be held in government prisons. Some reports say that 100 to 200 government soldiers are held by the opposition.
ITAR-TASS today quotes the Russian ambassador to Tajikistan, Yevgeny Belov, as saying Mirzodzhag Ziyev had freed the soldiers yesterday in the eastern Tavildar region.
A Russian embassy diplomat in Dushanbe, Azim Yarokhmetov, told Reuters six ethnic Russians were among the freed captives.
The former combatants have exchanged several dozen prisoners in recent weeks. Also, ex-rebel leaders have arrived in Dushanbe to participate in a National Reconciliation Commission. The commission is part of the June peace accord that brought a formal end to Tajikistan's four-year conflict.
But around 300 opposition fighters are still believed to be held in government prisons. Some reports say that 100 to 200 government soldiers are held by the opposition.