Attack near Tajik-Afghan border kills one Chinese citizen, injures four

BEIJING: An attack near the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan killed one Chinese citizen while four others were injured, said Beijing's foreign ministry on Tuesday. 

"On November 18 Beijing time, the camp of a private Chinese enterprise in the border area between Tajikistan and Afghanistan was attacked (located on the Tajikistan side), resulting in the death of one Chinese citizen and injuries to four others," a statement to AFP read.

"China strongly condemns the violent attack, expresses deep mourning over the victims, and expresses sincere condolences to the injured and the families of the victims," it said.

A "working group" dispatched by China's embassy in Dushanbe has arrived at the area of the attack to "express sympathy to the injured and coordinate the handling of subsequent matters", the ministry added.

The motive and identity of the attacker or attackers was not clear from the statement, which also said the Chinese ambassador had urged the Tajik side to "get to the bottom of incident as soon as possible".

Tajikistan shares a winding 1,350-kilometre (840-mile) border with Afghanistan and designates the Taliban — which retook control of the country in 2021 — a terrorist organisation.

Chinese firms — especially companies involved in the extraction of raw minerals such as gold — have a strong presence in Central Asian countries, including Tajikistan.

"In view of the security situation in the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border area, we remind Chinese citizens and enterprises in the area to pay special attention to safety," said the statement.