• Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan say 71 people have died in their border dispute.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin urges the sides to de-escalate the situation.
• A fragile ceasefire between the two countries held for a second day on Sunday.

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan said on Sunday that 71 people had died in their border dispute. This came as a fragile ceasefire between the two Central Asian countries held for a second day and their common ally, Russia, called for a de-escalation of the situation.

Between September 14 and 16, the former Soviet republics fought over a border dispute. They accused each other of attacking outposts and nearby settlements with tanks, mortars, rocket artillery, and attack drones.

Most border problems in Central Asia go back to the Soviet era, when Moscow tried to split the area up between different groups whose settlements were often in the middle of those of other ethnicities.

Kyrgyzstan said on Sunday that 36 people had died in the fighting and that about 137,000 people had been moved out of the area. On September 19, the government made it a day of mourning for the people who died.

Sunday, Tajikistan told the world that 35 people had died in their country. It hasn’t heard of any large groups of people leaving the area.

The two sides agreed a ceasefire on Sept. 16 which has largely held up despite several alleged incidents of shelling.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone to Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Tajik leader Emomali Rakhmon on Sunday, the Kremlin said.

Putin urged the sides to prevent further escalation and to take measures to resolve the situation “exclusively by peaceful, political and diplomatic means as soon as possible”, offering assistance, his office said in a statement.

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