TAJIK GOVERNMENT FORCES AT BAY.

Tajik United Opposition deputy chairman Akbar Turanjozoda said at the weekend that a UTO detachment had retaken Tavildara on August 15. UN special envoy Dietrich Merrem in turn said yesterday that the Tajik government had informed him that the opposition had advanced in Tavildara district, "including the town itself;" but that UN military observers were unable to confirm the development because they were barred from the region by government troops. The government’s Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Internal Affairs Ministries all issued statements denouncing the opposition’s offensive and claiming that government troops controlled "strategic heights" around Tavildara, without saying who controlled the town itself. The UTO offensive is being credited to field commander Mirzo Zieyev.

In the northwestern city of Tursunzade, a government commission is negotiating with two local armed groups for a surrender of their weapons.

In Yavan district, 40 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe, the resistance unit of commander Rahmon captured the district security chief (identified as a Russian officer), police chief, three other law enforcement officers, and nine Russian soldiers. In the country’s capital Dushanbe, a bomb blast killed at least one Russian soldier and wounded eight others. The government ordered the formation of joint patrols of Tajik police and Russian soldiers from the 201st Motorized Infantry Division to "ensure order" in the capital. (Reuter, Interfax, Itar-Tass, August 16 through 18)

The Monitor is a publication of the Jamestown Foundation. It is researched and written under the direction of senior analysts Jonas Bernstein, Vladimir Socor, Stephen Foye, and analysts Ilya Malyakin, Oleg Varfolomeyev and Ilias Bogatyrev. If you have any questions regarding the content of the Monitor, please contact the foundation. If you would like information on subscribing to the Monitor, or have any comments, suggestions or questions, please contact us by e-mail at pubs@jamestown.org, by fax at 301-562-8021, or by postal mail at The Jamestown Foundation, 4516 43rd Street NW, Washington DC 20016. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution of the Monitor is strictly prohibited by law. Copyright (c) 1983-2002 The Jamestown Foundation Site Maintenance by Johnny Flash Productions