Khorog Clashes

IWPR reports on clashes between government forces and a regional strongman in southeastern Tajikistan:

"Forty-two people died when Tajik government forces clashed with supporters of a renegade military commander in the remote southeastern province of Badakhshan, police agencies said...

"This outbreak of violence – highly unusual for this sparsely-populated, high-altitude region of Tajikistan – began on July when the provincial head of the national security service, Major-General Abdullo Nazarov, was killed in an attack outside Khorog.

"The authorities identified one Tolib Ayombekov as a possible suspect. Like the murdered man, Ayombekov was a member of the regular security forces, in his case as commander of a border guards unit at Ishkashim, close to the Afghan frontier...

"Ayombekov is a former rebel leader turned security forces member. Like many opposition commanders who fought the government during the 1992-97 civil war, he was given his command in the border guards force as part of the peace and reintegration agreement that ended the conflict."

According to the article, local strongmen such as Ayombekov have had more autonomy in Badakhshan because of its remoteness and small population.  The most interesting aspect of this is why Nazarov was killed, and whether he might have been interfering in a significant Ayombekov smuggling operation.