(RFE/RL)
October 19, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- An official with Kazakhstan's border-guard administration today said work will begin soon on a fence along the Kazakh border with Uzbekistan.
Erik Roslyakov, the officer in second in charge of the "South" sector of Kazakhstan's state border, told RFE/RL's Kazakh Service in Shymkent that the 45-kilometer fence will span the Sariaghash and Maktaaral administrative districts of the Southern Kazakhstan Region.
Another Shymkent-based officer within the border authority, Talghat Esetov, told the Kazakhstan Today news agency today that construction works have, in fact, already started.
Esetov said the fence is designed to keep smugglers traversing the Kazakh-Uzbek border away from towns and villages, thus making it easier for security forces to catch them.
In comments to RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, a spokeswoman for the border administration, Larisa Dmitriyuk, confirmed Esetov's statement.
"Out task will now be easier," Dmitriyuk said. "We will be in a position to use our weapons, as it is the rule when one wants to catch [trespassers]."
Roslyakov said the fence would be made of barbed wire, 2.5 meter-high poles, and searchlights.
Another Shymkent-based officer within the border authority, Talghat Esetov, told the Kazakhstan Today news agency today that construction works have, in fact, already started.
Esetov said the fence is designed to keep smugglers traversing the Kazakh-Uzbek border away from towns and villages, thus making it easier for security forces to catch them.
In comments to RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, a spokeswoman for the border administration, Larisa Dmitriyuk, confirmed Esetov's statement.
"Out task will now be easier," Dmitriyuk said. "We will be in a position to use our weapons, as it is the rule when one wants to catch [trespassers]."
Roslyakov said the fence would be made of barbed wire, 2.5 meter-high poles, and searchlights.