# Batken conflict > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Batken_conflict > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Batken_conflict.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batken_conflict > Source revision: 1332197953 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|1999 military conflict between Kyrgyzstan and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan}} {{Infobox Military Conflict | conflict = Batken conflict | place = [Batken Region](/source/Batken_Region), [Kyrgyzstan](/source/Kyrgyzstan) | image = 330px|right | caption = | date = July 30 – September 27, 1999
({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=07|day1=30|year1=1999|month2=09|day2=27|year2=1999}}) | result = {{bulletedlist|Strategic Kyrgyz victory|The IMU is pushed back into Tajikistan}}{{inconsistent}} | combatant1 = {{flag|Kyrgyzstan}}
{{flag|Russia}} (material support)
{{flag|Uzbekistan}} (military support) | combatant2 = 23px [Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan](/source/Islamic_Movement_of_Uzbekistan) | commander1 = {{flagicon|Kyrgyzstan}} [Askar Akayev](/source/Askar_Akayev)
{{flagicon|Kyrgyzstan}} [Myrzakan Subanov](/source/Myrzakan_Subanov)
{{flagicon|Kyrgyzstan}} [Esen Topoev](/source/Esen_Topoev)
{{flagicon|Kyrgyzstan}} Abdrakhman Mamataliev
{{flagicon|Kyrgyzstan}} [Abdygul Chotbaev](/source/Abdygul_Chotbaev)
{{flagicon|Kyrgyzstan}} Colonel Stanislav Kholodkov | commander2 = 23px [Juma Namangani](/source/Juma_Namangani)
23px [Tohir Yoʻldosh](/source/Tohir_Yo%CA%BBldosh) | strength1 = 5,800-7,000 militiamen and soldiers | strength2 = More than 1,000 militants | casualties1 = 32 civilians and soldiers killed | casualties2 = more than 1,150 militants were killed }} The '''Batken conflict''' ({{Langx|ky|Баткен окуясы|Batken okuyasy}}, {{Langx|ru|Баткенские события}}) was a period of armed clashes between militants of the [Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan](/source/Islamic_Movement_of_Uzbekistan) (IMU) and the [Armed Forces of Kyrgyzstan](/source/Armed_Forces_of_Kyrgyzstan), with support to the latter being provided by the [Uzbek Ground Forces](/source/Uzbek_Ground_Forces). It was caused by incursions of IMU militants into Uzbek and Kyrgyz territory from [Tajikistan](/source/Tajikistan) and was in part, centered on the unilateral demarcation of the [Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan border](/source/Kyrgyzstan%E2%80%93Uzbekistan_border) by [Uzbekistan](/source/Uzbekistan).{{cite web|url=http://mnenie.akipress.org/unews/un_post:2274|title=Баткен 1999 год: события или война?|author=Абытов Байболот Капарович|website=Мнение. АКИpress|date=2014-10-29|publisher=Мнение|access-date=2019-04-21}} ==Background== {{Main|1999 Tashkent bombings}} In February 1999, the Uzbek capital of [Tashkent](/source/Tashkent) experienced [a series of explosions](/source/1999_Tashkent_bombings) in an attempt on President [Islam Karimov](/source/Islam_Karimov)'s life, who then blamed it on radical [Wahhabi](/source/Wahhabi) [Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan](/source/Islamic_Movement_of_Uzbekistan) militants. According to the militants, their goal was to facilitate an overthrow of the [Uzbek government](/source/Uzbek_government) and President Karimov, after which the establishment of a [fully Islamic state](/source/Caliphate) in [Uzbekistan](/source/Uzbekistan) would follow. ==Events== In the summer of that year, IMU guerrilla rebels invaded the [Batken Region](/source/Batken_Region) of [Kyrgyzstan](/source/Kyrgyzstan) (a region with an ethnically Uzbek majority). It was the IMU's first verifiable operation since it was established just a year before. Specifically, the city of [Barak, Kyrgyzstan](/source/Barak%2C_Kyrgyzstan) was occupied by militant forces, with the surrounding area being controlled and blockaded by Uzbek forces. During the intrusion, the rebels took several people hostage, including a Japanese [geologist](/source/geologist), who was eventually returned after the [Japanese government](/source/Japanese_government) paid a ransom. The rebels demanded that Kyrgyzstan provide safe passage for them to cross into Uzbekistan. On the eighth day of the conflict, Mayor Abdrakhman Mamataliev of [Osh](/source/Osh) along with 3 security officers were captured by militants in order to send a message to the [Bishkek](/source/Bishkek) authorities. They were in captivity for over a week until they were released on 13 August as a result of extensive negotiations and the extortion of a ransom, which included an [Afghanistan](/source/Afghanistan)-bound helicopter.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ca-c.org/journal/cac-07-2000/04.omural.shtml|title=Баткенские события в Кыргызстане. Хроника событий.|author=Нурбек Омуралиев, Айнура Элебаева|website=Central Asia & Central Caucasus Press AB|access-date=2019-04-21|archive-date=2012-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412163358/http://ca-c.org/journal/cac-07-2000/04.omural.shtml|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://iwpr.net/global-voices/batken-conflict-returns|title=Batken Conflict Returns|website=iwpr.net}} On 24 August, defense minister [Myrzakan Subanov](/source/Myrzakan_Subanov) was dismissed from his post after Akayev and his government observed what his spokesman called a failure to "stabilize the situation."{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-25-mn-3539-story.html|title=Kyrgyz Troops Kill 10 Gunmen in Hostage Crisis|date=August 25, 1999|website=Los Angeles Times}} Just four days later, Akayev appointed [Major General](/source/Major_General) [Esen Topoev](/source/Esen_Topoev), a native of the [Batken](/source/Batken), as minister of defense. On 1 September, [Russian Prime Minister](/source/Russian_Prime_Minister) [Vladimir Putin](/source/Vladimir_Putin) and Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister [Boris Silaev](/source/Boris_Silaev) met to discuss [Russia](/source/Russia) formally providing technical assistance to the [Kyrgyz Army](/source/Kyrgyz_Army) in eliminating the militants. The government spent the next month concentrating their operations on the IMU militants throughout the mountains, utilizing air strikes and artillery shelling to help aide their advance. By 25 September, the Batken region was completely stripped of militants, with some retreating to [Tajikistan](/source/Tajikistan). The government then arrested over 70 civilians in [Bishkek](/source/Bishkek) who were suspected of having links with the IMU terrorists. The Kyrgyz and Uzbek governments agreed to confine the rebels in the mountains during the winter, in an attempt to ensure the disablement of the invading forces. ==Aftermath== {{See also|Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan barrier}} Following the conclusion of the conflict, the Uzbek government began the process of sealing its border with Kyrgyzstan, enacting measures such as constructing a barbed wire fence and creating a 2-meter (6.67-foot) fence throughout 1999 and 2000. The Uzbek government also hinted at a military intervention in the country, with defense minister [Hikmatulla Tursunov](/source/Hikmatulla_Tursunov) declaring that the [Uzbek Armed Forces](/source/Uzbek_Armed_Forces) stand ready to launch attacks on rebel sanctuaries in both "nearby" and "other places".{{Cite web|url=https://jamestown.org/program/growing-international-ramifications-of-the-islamic-insurgency-in-kyrgyzstan/|title=GROWING INTERNATIONAL RAMIFICATIONS OF THE ISLAMIC INSURGENCY IN KYRGYZSTAN.|website=Jamestown}} The conflict was a key factor in political debates between the government of [Amangeldy Muraliyev](/source/Amangeldy_Muraliyev) and [opposition](/source/Opposition_(politics)), eventually incorporating itself into that year's parliamentary and [presidential elections](/source/presidential_elections).{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/c-asia/BC15Ag01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000925082401/http://atimes.com/c-asia/BC15Ag01.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=September 25, 2000|title=Bad neighbors, bad fences|access-date=2019-04-20|date=March 15, 2000 }} The [Batken Region](/source/Batken_Region) was created as a response to IMU activities.{{Cite web|url=http://www.welcome.kg/ru/kyrgyzstan/region/fretrr/|title=Баткенская область - Регионы - О Кыргызстане - Добро пожаловать в Кыргызстан!|website=www.welcome.kg|access-date=2019-04-21|archive-date=2015-05-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150521050756/http://www.welcome.kg/ru/kyrgyzstan/region/fretrr|url-status=dead}} Kyrgyzstan accused Uzbekistan of using the conflict to seize large areas of agricultural land that was loaned to Uzbekistan during the Soviet period for temporary usage.Megoran (2004), op. cit., p 733-734. The conflict also had a major impact on the international community, who collectively put pressure on [Tajikistan](/source/Tajikistan) to expel the IMU from the country, specifically the [Tavildara Valley](/source/Tavildara_Valley) where it is based. The IMU eventually abandoned the valley in late 1999 after persuasion from the [Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan](/source/Islamic_Renaissance_Party_of_Tajikistan) (IRPT). ==See also== *[Post-Soviet conflicts](/source/Post-Soviet_conflicts) ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Kyrgyzstan topics}} Category:1999 in Uzbekistan Category:1999 in Kyrgyzstan Category:Wars involving Uzbekistan Category:Wars involving Kyrgyzstan Category:Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan relations Category:Conflicts in 1999 Category:Batken Region Category:Riots and civil disorder in Kyrgyzstan --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Batken conflict](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batken_conflict) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batken_conflict?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.