Turkmenistan Closes Border With Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan says neighboring Turkmenistan has temporarily closed the two countries’ common border, citing security reasons.

Officials from Kazakhstan's western Manghystau region that borders Turkmenistan say the border has been closed since August 4.

The officials quoted Turkmen officials as saying the measure was to last five days.

Residents of the Manghystau region are allowed to visit Turkmenistan's Balkan region without a visa for a period of five days.

It is Ashgabat's second closure of the Turkmen-Kazakh border recently.

On July 20, Turkmenistan closed the border for five days, also citing security reasons.

It is unclear if border closures by Ashgabat are related to a pair of deadly attacks on police stations in Kazakhstan in June-July that officials have blamed on terrorists.

Based on reporting by KazTAG and Interfax