DUSHANBE: Five Chinese nationals were killed and five more injured in attacks from neighboring Afghanistan over the past week, Tajik authorities and China’s embassy said Monday.
China’s embassy in Dushanbe advised Chinese companies and personnel to urgently evacuate the border area.
The embassy said Chinese citizens were targeted in an armed attack near the Afghan border on Sunday. On Friday, three Chinese citizens died in another border attack, which Tajik authorities said involved drones dropping grenades.
Tajikistan, a mountainous former Soviet republic of around 11 million people, maintains tense relations with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The country has previously warned of drug smugglers and illegal gold miners operating along the remote frontier.
China, which shares a remote, mountainous border with Tajikistan, is a major investor in the country.
Afghanistan’s authorities did not immediately respond to the Tajik statement. Last week, Afghanistan’s foreign ministry blamed an unnamed group seeking to create instability and said it would cooperate with Tajik authorities.
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Tajik President Emomali Rahmon met with his security chiefs Monday to discuss strengthening border security. His office said Rahmon “strongly condemned the illegal and provocative actions of Afghan citizens” and ordered measures to prevent future attacks.
Tajikistan, aligned closely with Russia, endured a brutal civil war in the 1990s after independence. Millions of Tajiks live across the border in Afghanistan, and the country has historically backed Afghan Tajiks opposed to the Taliban.
