On April 28, 2021, a violent conflict erupted between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The death toll was 31 as of April 30. It is the most violent conflict between the two countries in many years. The escalation of violence between the two Central Asian countries affected more than a dozen Kyrgyz villages in the Batken and Leilek district, near the Tajik enclave of Voroukh.

The start of the conflict began when Tajik workers began removing rubble in the enclave of Voroukh, near the Kyrgyz border. Tensions increased when the Tajik authorities installed surveillance cameras at Govolnoi water installation, near Voroukh. The Tajik authorities defend themselves by denouncing the determination of the Kyrgyz authorities to seize the hydraulic installations in the region. Indeed, water sources are very precious in the arid region, so they have been a source of tension for many years between the two countries. The dissolution of the USSR in 1991 created problems with regard to the delimitation of the territory. On April 30 the authorities of the two countries managed to agree to announce a ceasefire following the escalation of violence. The Turkish council and Russia urged the Central Asian countries to come to an understanding in order to ease tensions.

CD4Peace encourages countries to maintain dialogue in order to find peaceful solutions. Dialogue makes it possible to find alternatives to armed conflict involving innocent civilians.