Afghanistan expresses regret over woman killed by cross-border gunfire in Tajikistan

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry has expressed regret over the death of a 21-year-old pregnant woman killed by gunfire across the border in Tajikistan’s Darvoz district. Dushanbe has issued a formal protest to Kabul over the incident, which it said involved a violation of its airspace. 

Abdul Qahar Balkhi, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman, blamed the event on “destructive and opportunistic” individuals, in a statement on X.

He expressed Kabul’s “utmost regret and grief,” over the incident.

The victim, a resident of Dashtak village, was struck by a stray bullet while doing chores in her house on Thursday at 18:50 local time (13:50 GMT), according to Tajik news agency Asia-Plus. 

“The woman was taken to the district central hospital, but she died on the way,” an Asia-Plus source said. She leaves behind a young child, sources told the news agency. 

Armed clashes in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province in recent days have posed a threat to the security of Tajik border areas, Dushanbe’s Ministry of Information told Asia-Plus. 

Clashes between Taliban forces and Juma Khan Fateh, a dissident Taliban commander, in Badakhshan, which borders Tajikistan, entered their fourth consecutive day on Friday, sources told Afghanistan-focused news outlet Amu TV.

Read more from Afghanistan:

• UN urges sustained Afghanistan engagement five years into Taliban rule
• Iran and Afghanistan seek deeper agriculture and trade ties
• Five years of Taliban rule: What happened in Afghanistan?

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