![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/region-central-asia.jpg)
Latest Articles about Central Asia
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Uzbek_Railway_Bridge_near_Termez_-_EDM_November_28__2011.jpg)
Questions In Tajikistan Over Real Target of “Terrorist” Railway Bridge Bombing In Uzbekistan
A mysterious blast on a vital Uzbekistan rail route on November 17 has been followed by a stranger Uzbek disinterest in repairing the damage or sharing details of the investigation into the incident. The Tashkent government formed a commission to investigate the bombing of the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/15322_1.jpg)
“By the Hands of Men Who Don’t Fear Death” – Jund al-Khilafa Launches Islamist Insurgency in Kazakhstan
Since the Kazakh militant group Jund al-Khilafa (Army of the Caliphate) released videos in September and October of two attacks that it claimed to have led against U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the group has risen to prominence on the international jihad scene. The group’s three... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Rogun_Dam_-_EDM_November_17__2011.jpg)
Rahmon Balances Domestic and Foreign Pressures Over Rogun Project
On November 3, Tajik authorities announced that they had completed the main diversion tunnel of the Rogun Dam project. This means that it is now technically possible to divert the Vakhsh River from the part of the valley in which they plan to place the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Russian_Youth_Picketing_Tajik_Embassy_in_Moscow_-_EDM_November_17__2011.jpg)
Russia Punishes Tajikistan By Asymmetric Means
In a matter of only days Tajikistan has managed to aggravate its relationship with Russia to the lowest point to date. Last week, a Tajik court sentenced a Russian citizen, Vladimir Sadovnichy, to serve eight years and six months in prison for smuggling and illegally... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Taraz_Bombing_aftermath__Nov_12_-_EDM_November_15__2011_01.jpg)
Militants Escalate Terrorist Attacks In Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, once depicted as an island of stability invulnerable to the encroachments of Islamist extremists is no longer a safe place in turbulent Central Asia. Over the last seven months the Muslim-dominated country was shaken by a series of terrorist attacks in several cities in... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Vladimir_Norov_-_EDM_November_14__2011.jpg)
Uzbekistan Considers the Strategic Implications of NATO’s Drawdown In Afghanistan
US President Barack Obama has set 2014 as a deadline for the withdrawal of coalition forces from Afghanistan. The future of the country and its neighbors following the withdrawal by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is unclear, even though the US government pledges its... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Amb_to_Kyrgyzstan.jpg)
China’s Slow Surge in Kyrgyzstan: A View from the Ground
Kyrgyzstan’s recent peaceful presidential elections did not feature China as a campaign issue. For the most part, they focused on domestic issues and where foreign policy seeped in, it was mostly in the positive light that most Kyrgyz see Russia and separately its regional customs... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Jund_al-Khilafah_-_EDM_November_11__2011.jpg)
Is Kazakhstan Threatened By Islamic Terrorists?
Kazakh police in the western Atyrau oblast have arrested three men in connection with two bomb explosions in the downtown area of the city of Atyrau, the “oil capital” of Kazakhstan, on October 31. They have made full confessions, said the Prosecutor-General’s office on Wednesday.... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Vladimir_Sandovnichy_-_EDM_November_10__2011.jpg)
Tajikistan Prods the Bear By Imprisoning a Russian Pilot
Tajikistan has raised tensions with Moscow after a court in Dushanbe convicted a Russian citizen, Vladimir Sadovnichy, sentencing him to serve eight years and six months in prison for smuggling and illegally landing his aircraft on Tajikistan’s Kurgan-Tyube airport last March. While the details of... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/UN_General_Assembly_Vote_-_EDM_November_9__2011.jpg)
Pakistan Beats Kyrgyzstan to Gain UN Security Council Seat
On October 18, Hina Rabanni Khar, Pakistan’s first female foreign minister, met with Roza Otunbayeva, Kyrgyzstan’s first female president, in Bishkek to persuade Kyrgyzstan – its competitor for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council – to drop out of the race. Kyrgyzstan declined,... MORE