While the world's eyes are fixed on the talks to halt the war in Ukraine, two Central Asian countries have reached a historic peace agreement, putting an end to a long and bloody territorial dispute and reopening border crossings that had been closed for nearly four years.

The historic peace agreement between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

On 13 March 2025, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, former Soviet republics, signed an agreement to redefine the approximately one thousand kilometres of shared border, which has been disputed along nearly half its length, and where a series of clashes have taken place over the years — the worst of which occurred in 2021 and 2022, claiming the lives of dozens of people.

The resolution enabled the reopening of border crossings and the restoration of road, air and rail links. It also entailed significant territorial concessions, such as the village of Dostuk — whose name means "friendship" in the local language — which passed from Kyrgyzstan to Tajikistan.

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Uzbekistan's Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Kyrgyzstan's Sadyr Japarov, and Tajikistan's Emomali Rahmon will celebrate Novruz together in Khujand on March 31. The event symbolizes regional unity, strengthens cross-border ties, and fosters cultural cooperation among Central Asian nations.

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"For four or five years it was impossible to cross the border — recounted Kazakov Rustam Ganievich, who lives on the Tajik side of the border —. I have brothers, children and grandchildren living in Kyrgyzstan. For all this time we were no longer able to see each other. We stayed in touch only by phone."

The agreement was signed in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, by President Sadyr Japarov and his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon, who after years of tension shook hands at length and embraced three times: a gesture that marks the end of a dispute dating back to the Soviet era, compounded over time by the struggle for control of water resources in a territory severely affected by drought and climate change.

The causes of tensions between the two Asian countries

The origins of the conflict go back to the Soviet era, when Moscow's authorities drew administrative borders without taking into account the ethnic and geographical complexity of this mountainous region. The collapse of the Soviet Union then left behind enclaves (such as the village of Vorukh, a Tajik enclave on Kyrgyz territory) and the need to gain control over water resources, fertile land and industrial facilities.

Much of the tension over the years has centred above all on the use of rivers, canals and reservoirs, which are vital for agriculture and livestock farming. Rising temperatures, drought and the drying up of the Aral Sea caused by the intensive cultivation of cotton during the Soviet period have made water an extremely precious resource in this region.

The clashes in the border areas between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

Those who have suffered the most severe consequences of these tensions have been the inhabitants of the border areas. While up until 2021 incidents over territorial control had remained at a low-to-medium level, in the months that followed they intensified, culminating in the violent episodes of September 2022, which escalated into armed clashes, looting and arson attacks on villages.

As documented in a report by Human Rights Watch, on that occasion the tensions were concentrated along a roughly 110-kilometre stretch of border, in the fertile Fergana Valley and the surrounding areas, where there are strategic points for access to the rivers that supply water to Batken, the main town of the district on the Kyrgyz side, and vast agricultural areas of Tajikistan. Both countries deployed their border guards, while on the Tajik side the army and militias also entered the fray. The fighting involved artillery and armoured vehicles, with Kyrgyzstan also making use of armed drones. According to Human Rights Watch, the violence perpetrated could constitute war crimes. In that episode alone, more than fifty people were killed and one hundred and twenty wounded, while in Kyrgyzstan at least 130,000 people were forced to flee their homes.

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How does HRW's Digital Investigations Lab conduct its work?

New video explainers show how when conflict broke out on the Tajikistan/Kyrgyzstan border in 2022, the Lab worked with other HRW research colleagues on the ground to investigate possible violations of the laws of war.

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According to some independent media, the total death toll over the years may have been around two hundred.

"Civilians living in the disputed border areas have paid a very high price for the ruthless conduct of Kyrgyz and Tajik forces during the September 2022 fighting — stated Jean-Baptiste Gallopin, senior researcher on crisis and conflict at Human Rights Watch —. The families of the victims deserve justice and compensation."

An important step towards regional stability

The signing of this agreement therefore closes a particularly delicate and bloody chapter in Central Asian history. A peace that comes after more than one hundred rounds of negotiations launched since the early 2000s, and which forms part of a broader climate of improving relations among the five former Central Asian Soviet republics.

Kyrgyz president Sadyr Japarov and his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon had already addressed border issues during a rare meeting last year on the sidelines of a United Nations summit, fuelling hopes of a possible agreement. Shortly afterwards, the two countries had committed to working together to demarcate the border.

Both states are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a military alliance created in the 1990s and led by Moscow. In 2022, Kyrgyzstan had asked Russian president Vladimir Putin to mediate, given that the original maps and archival documents that could have shed light on the disputed border are held in Moscow. But Russia, by then fully engaged in the war in Ukraine, played no role in the agreement. An agreement that, after decades of tensions and conflicts, represents an important step towards peace and stability in the region.