Kyrgyz-Uzbek Border Officials Discuss Tensions In Osh

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz and Uzbek officials have discussed the tense situation around a disputed segment of border in Kyrgyzstan's southern province of Osh.

Kyrgyz Border Guard Service spokeswoman Sajida Chokoloeva told RFE/RL that the September 30 gathering focused on the situation in Kyrgyzstan's Aqsy district.

Locals in Aqsy have been protesting the appearance several days ago of Uzbek border guards at the site of a local radio transmitter owned by Kyrgyztelecom.

The protesters allege that Uzbek border guards raised the Uzbek national flag on the top of a mountain on the disputed territory over the weekend.

About 300 kilometers of the 1,000-kilometer-long Kyrgyz-Uzbek border have remained in dispute since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.