More Than 200 Weapons Handed Over In East Tajikistan

Hundreds of weapons have been handed over to the authorities in Gorno-Bardakshan as part of a truce agreement.

Tajikistan's Interior Ministry says outlaw groups in the eastern part of the country have turned in more than 200 weapons as part of a truce agreement.

Fighting that left some 70 people dead in the eastern Gorno-Badakhshan region last week ended after the government offered an amnesty to groups of what officials have described as "militants" if the fighters turned in their weapons.

The government has also demanded the surrender of four people suspected of killing a top security official.

The four suspects in the July 21 killing remain at large.

In a related development, the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan is calling on authorities to clarify the circumstances of the killing of one of the party's members during the government's military operation in the region last week.

Based on reporting by Interfax and ITAR-TASS