Wednesday, May 02, 2012 -
Two Uzbek border guards have killed two drug traffickers from Afghanistan, Uzbek border officials said on Wednesday.
The date of the killings were not specified, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported. The traffickers were allegedly trying to haul 33 kilograms of heroin into Uzbekistan when they were shot.
The state security service said it is conducting an investigation into the incident.
On Monday, the security service said Tajik citizens were apprehended at the border as they attempted to smuggle eight kilos of heroin to Russia, going through Uzbekistan.
Drug trafficking is a major policy concern of all Central Asian states, as several border Afghanistan. The unstable country produces 90 percent of the world’s opium, which is used to make heroin.
On Monday night, U.S. President Barack Obama flew to Kabul to announce that the U.S. and Afghanistan have reached a deal on the estimated 2014 withdrawal. Approximately 20,000 U.S. troops are scheduled to leave Afghanistan by September 2012.
Central Asian states are concerned that fewer troops may further destabilize Afghanistan.