Batken conflict

The Batken conflict (Kyrgyz: Баткен окуясы, romanized: Batken okuyasy, Russian: Баткенские события) was a period of armed clashes between militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and the Armed Forces of Kyrgyzstan, with support to the former being provided by the Uzbek Ground Forces. It was caused by incursions of IMU militants into Uzbek and Kyrgyz territory from Tajikistan and was in part, centered on the unilateral demarcation of the Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan border by Uzbekistan.

Background

In February 1999, the Uzbek capital of Tashkent experienced a series of explosions in an attempt on President Islam Karimov's life, who then blamed it on radical Wahhabi Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan militants. According to the militants, their goal was to facilitate an overthrow of the Uzbek government and President Karimov, after which the establishment of a fully Islamic state in Uzbekistan would follow.

Events

In the summer of that year, IMU guerrilla rebels invaded the Batken Region of 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 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, who was eventually returned after the 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 along with 3 security officers were captured by militants in order to send a message to the Bishkek authorities.