As a tenuous cease-fire between the Central Asian countries entered its second day and their mutual ally Russia urged a de-escalation, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan said on Sunday that nearly 100 people had died in their border conflict.

Both nations share a border with China, and Tajikistan additionally shares a long border with Afghanistan.

Large portions of the border between the two former Soviet states are up for debate.

More than 50 people died in clashes in April 2021, raising the possibility of a wider conflict.

Border disputes in Central Asia largely date back to the Soviet era, when Moscow attempted to split the continent into groups that were frequently settled by people of other ethnicities.

Late on Sunday, Kyrgyzstan announced an additional 13 combat-related fatalities, bringing the overall death toll from the fighting to 46.

The former Soviet state added that 102 individuals had been hurt.

Earlier, Kyrgyzstan claimed to have ejected roughly 137,000 people from the area of hostilities.

Monday was designated as a day of mourning for the victims by the government.

The conflict was referred to as an invasion by Kyrgyz media, which revealed on Sunday that some evacuees had already begun to return to their homes.

35 fatalities were reported by Tajikistan on Sunday.

There have been no widespread evacuations reported.

Tajikistan's foreign ministry reported that Kyrgyzstan kept up a media offensive against it and noted that in his speech on Saturday, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov referred to Tajikistan as an "enemy."

Despite several alleged instances of shelling, the cease-fire that the two sides reached on Friday has largely held.

The veteran Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone on Sunday, according to the Kremlin.

Putin offered assistance and urged the two sides to take action to resolve the conflict "exclusively by peaceful, political, and diplomatic means as soon as possible," according to a statement from his office.

Tajikistan-Kyrgistan border clashes: 100 feared dead

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