TAJIK GOVERNMENT TROOPS ON THE OFFENSIVE.

Publication: Monitor Volume: 2 Issue: 104

Tajik military officials said yesterday that their troops have in recent days resumed offensive operations aimed at ousting the opposition from Tavildara. Troops of the defense, internal affairs, and state security ministries, together with those of the presidential guard were committed to the operation with aviation support, but failed to achieve their task. (The aviation support mentioned by Tajik officials can only be Russian.) Officials said that the government is augmenting its forces in Tavildara with a view toward resuming the offensive "in the near future." Representatives of the Tajik resistance said yesterday that a presidential guard unit attempting to enter the Komsomolabad district, adjacent to Tavildara, was beaten back after two days of fighting. In Dushanbe, officials said that 8 internal affairs troops were killed and 5 wounded in one ambush in Kofarnikhon district near the capital. (Interfax, Itar-Tass, May 29; Nezavisimaya gazeta, May 25)

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