ALMATY: Tajikistan is in talks with Russia and a Moscow-led regional security grouping about the possibility of Russia deploying troops to jointly patrol the volatile border with Afghanistan, three Tajik security sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
Five Chinese citizens have been killed and five wounded near the border in the past week as a result of attacks launched from Afghanistan.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon held talks with the heads of his security agencies on Monday about the situation and China has advised its citizens, who are engaged in various mining and business activities, to urgently leave the border area.
One of the three sources, in the Tajik Security Council, told Reuters that the authorities have held talks with Russia about the possibility of deploying forces from Moscow’s military base in the Central Asian country to jointly patrol the Tajik-Afghan border.
The base is Russia’s largest overseas military facility and is located close to the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.
“We are currently in talks. I think a decision will be made... this week,” the source told Reuters.
Two of the other sources, in Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security, confirmed the talks with Russia, which if successful would see Russia use helicopters to help patrol the 1,344-kilometer (835 miles) border with Afghanistan, which runs through mountainous terrain.
The Tajik and Russian ministries of defense declined to comment when asked about the talks.
The Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization alliance, which the sources said was also involved in the talks, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have said they will cooperate with Tajikistan on security issues around the border.
Until the early 2000s, the Russian base, along with Russian border troops in Tajikistan, was tasked with guarding the Tajik border with Afghanistan. Tajikistan has been independently guarding the frontier since 2005.
Tajikistan is in talks with Russia about helping guard its Afghan border, security sources say
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Tajikistan is in talks with Russia about helping guard its Afghan border, security sources say
- Authorities have held talks with Russia about the possibility of deploying forces from Moscow’s military base
- Sources confirmed the talks, which if successful would see Russia use helicopters to help patrol the border with Afghanistan
South Africa police arrest Mugabe’s son after gardener shot
- A police spokeswoman declined to identify the suspects
- Several South African media outlets reported that one of them was Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe
JOHANNESBURG: The youngest son of former Zimbabwean ruler Robert Mugabe has been arrested after a gardener was shot at his South Africa home on Thursday, media reported.
Police said they had detained two men on charges of attempted murder after the shooting in a wealthy suburb north of Johannesburg.
A police spokeswoman declined to identify the suspects but several South African media outlets reported that one of them was Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe.
Photographs on the IOL News X feed showed pictures of Mugabe, 29, in handcuffs and being escorted by police.
He is the youngest son of Robert Mugabe, the late Zimbabwe president who was ousted in a 2017 military takeover after 37 years in power.
The gardener was in a critical condition, police said.
“The motive of the shooting is unknown at this stage and police investigations are underway,” Col. Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said.
The former president’s two sons with Grace Mugabe, Robert Jr and Bellarmine, sometimes live in Johannesburg where they have a reputation for partying.
In 2019, Grace was accused of attacking an employee at the family home in Zimbabwe with a shoe in 2017.
Nicknamed “Gucci Grace” for her lavish lifestyle, she was also accused of assaulting a model with a power cable in Johannesburg the same year.
Robert Jr, 33, appeared in a Harare court in October last year charged with possession of cannabis, which he denies.
