European Forum

Attacks in Uzbekistan reignite fear of Islamic extremism

On 26 May three attacks took place in eastern Uzbekistan within a span of 24 hours. These attacks have reignited fears of a rise in Islamist militancy in the region's most populous country. While an Islamist group has taken responsibility for one incident, and Tashkent has blamed the other on militants they say crossed into Uzbekistan from Kyrgyz territory, many observers say it's too early to point fingers. But they are quick to note that instability and violence could easily spread in the heavily populated Ferghana Valley, which spans several borders and is generally seen as a hotbed of social unrest in Central Asia.

The first incident, a shoot-out at a police post along the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border on May 26, prompted Tashkent to increase its military presence in Khanabad, along the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. Kyrgyz media have reported that four police officers were killed by assailants attempting to drive through a border checkpoint, while Uzbek officials have said there were no fatalities. Tashkent has claimed that the attack originated from the Kyrgyz side, a charge that Bishkek officially denies. "Not a single group [of armed men] has ever entered from Kyrgyzstan's territory into Uzbekistan. All events happened inside Uzbekistan" Cholponbek Turusbekov, deputy head of the Kyrgyz Border Service, said. Turusbekov stressed that the Kyrgyz authorities "have controls on our side of the border, especially in the more or less dangerous parts of it, adding that Uzbek officials had closed their side of the border in the wake of the gun battle. The Uzbek checkpoints were reopened the next day under tight security. In a separate incident, a group comprising of five individuals attacked a building in central Khanabad that houses the local branches of the Interior Ministry and State Security Service. Some independent media outlets reported that as many as 25 militants were involved in the raid. These incidents in the early hours of May 26 were followed by a suicide bombing in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijon that prosecutors say killed a local policeman and wounded several others. Uzbek officials initially blamed the Khanabad attack on the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), a terrorist group whose current ability to carry out such attacks in Central Asia has been questioned. Meanwhile, the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), a group that is said to be an offshoot of the IMU, has claimed responsibility for both the Andijon and the Khanabad attacks. Experts are sceptical about the possibility of the IJU or IMU being behind the attacks. Besides maintaining a heavy presence in Khanabad, security troops and police were out in force in Andijan. Heavily armed troops patrolled the city’s streets and police established checkpoints throughout the Ferghana Valley. Sources said that mobile phone communication was blocked and news web sites were being censored.

The incidents are fresh reminders of the fragility that exists in the Ferghana Valley, which has seen periodic instability and social unrest since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Tension seemed to be brewing in Uzbekistan in the days and weeks before the clash and the suicide bombing. A security source in Tashkent suggested that "a lot of arrests" had been made in the Andijan region, and other locations in Uzbekistan, in the weeks prior to the Khanabad incident. The same source also indicated that Uzbek officials closed the border early on May 25. That might mean the border was sealed prior to the outbreak of violence. It is impossible to know, however, whether the recent arrests or the border closing had any role in precipitating the Khanabad violence. The most notable violence in the region was the 2005 anti-government uprising in Andijon, which according to rights groups left hundreds of civilians dead when government troops opened fire on protesters. Uzbek officials blamed the Andijon uprising on Islamic extremists determined to overthrow the government and downplayed casualty numbers.

Sources: eng.24.kg, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and EurasiaNet