Kyrgyzstan border guards reportedly exchanged fire with an unknown band of militants along the Chinese border.
Kyrgyz officials have not ruled out the possibility that the militants were Uighur separatists from China. Chinese authorities in Xinjiang are closely monitoring the situation.
Sources say that on the morning of Jan. 23 in the nation's northeastern Issykul region, which is less than 50 kilometers from the Chinese border, a border guard called up a nearby military base to request assistance. According to the guard, a group of about 10 unidentified armed men had just stabbed a local hunter to death and stole his gun.
When more border guards arrived to investigate the situation, rather than cooperate, the group started shooting at the guards. Two members of the group were killed in the initial exchange of fire. The remaining members of the group retreated to the nearby town of Pikertyk where they barricaded several buildings and refused to give themselves up.
Krygyz officials confirmed that after failing to negotiate a settlement, the guards decided to take the buildings by force. In the ensuing battle, officials said, the remaining members of the group "were eliminated." Officials further say that the group had explosives and had set some of the buildings on fire.
While some have speculated that the group were poachers or drug traffickers, others suspect that they were members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETMI), a Chinese Uighur separatist group known to be active in the region. At present, Kyrgyz authorities are working to identify just who the men were.
Kyrgyz officials noted that they have been in contact with Chinese authorities and have relayed all relevant information to their Chinese counterparts. The Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that both countries have been working together to investigate the incident on their respective sides of the border.