Uzbekistan, Tashkent, March 17 / Trend D. Azizov /
Afghans illegally infiltrated into Uzbekistan, attacked border guards and tried to seize weapons.
Three Afghans were killed during the clash, a statement released by the State Border Protection Committee of the Uzbek National Security Service said today.
According to the report, on March 14 Uzbek border guards were on duty on the Aral-Paygambar island (owned by the Republic of Uzbekistan) and saw more than 30 Afghan citizens. They ignored the legal requirements to leave the country's territory. Around 10 infiltrators attacked the border guards and tried to seize weapons.
"After warning shots, the border guards were forced to use weapons on the attackers," the report said. "As a result of the clash, four Afghans were shot, three of them died later. The rest border violators have disappeared on their territory. The urgent medical care was rendered to a wounded citizen of a neighboring country."
According to the committee, on the same day a decision was made to transfer the detainees and the bodies of dead people to the Afghan side. However, officials from the Afghan border guards refused to accept their citizens.
According to the Committee for the State Border Protection of the National Security Service, Afghanistan has recently violated the country's state border. Around 22 facts of violating the state border have been registered since early 2013. Around 106 Afghan people were detained.
The length of the Uzbek-Afghan border is 137 km.