The Tajikistani Civil War ( tg, Ҷанги шаҳрвандии Тоҷикистон, translit=Jangi shahrvandiyi Tojikiston / Çangi shahrvandiji Toçikiston; russian: Гражданская война в Таджикистане), also known as the Tajik Civil War, began in May 1992 when regional groups from the
Garm and
Gorno-Badakhshan
Gorno-Badakhshan, officially the Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous Region,, abbr. / is an autonomous region in eastern Tajikistan, in the Pamir Mountains. It makes up nearly forty-five percent of the country's land area, but only two percen ...
regions of
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
rose up against the newly formed government of President
Rahmon Nabiyev
Rahmon Nabiyevich Nabiyev, also spelled Rakhmon Nabiev ( tg, Раҳмон Набиев; russian: Рахмон Набиевич Набиев), (5 October 1930 – 11 April 1993) was a Tajik politician who served as the First Secretary of the Comm ...
, which was dominated by people from the
Khujand
Khujand ( tg, Хуҷанд, Khujand; Uzbek: Хўжанд, romanized: Хo'jand; fa, خجند, Khojand), sometimes spelled Khodjent and known as Leninabad (russian: Ленинабад, Leninabad; tg, Ленинобод, Leninobod; fa, لنی ...
and
Kulob regions. The rebel groups were led by a combination of
liberal democratic
Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into di ...
reformers and
Islamists
Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is c ...
, who would later organize under the banner of the
United Tajik Opposition. The government was supported by Russian military and border guards.
The main zone of conflict was in the country's south, although disturbances occurred nationwide.
The civil war was at its peak during its first year and continued for five years, devastating the country.
An estimated 20,000
to 150,000
people were killed in the conflict, and about 10 to 20 percent of the population of Tajikistan were internally displaced.
On 27 June 1997, Tajikistan president
Emomali Rahmon
Emomali Rahmon (; born Emomali Sharipovich Rahmonov, tg, Эмомалӣ Шарӣпович Раҳмонов, script=Latn, italic=no, Emomalī Sharīpovich Rahmonov; ; born 5 October 1952) has been the 3rd President of Tajikistan since 16 Novem ...
,
United Tajik Opposition (UTO) leader
Sayid Abdulloh Nuri and
Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General Gerd Merrem signed the ''General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan'' and the ''Moscow Protocol'' in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
, ending the war.
[Tajikistan Civil War]
Global Security
History
Background
There were numerous causes of civil war in Tajikistan, such as economic hardship, communal way of life of Tajiki people and their high religiosity. Under Soviet President
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...
's '
Perestroika
''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
' policies, a Muslim-Democratic movement began to emerge in Tajiki SSR. The backbone of opposition were
Party of Tajikistan Muslim Resurrection,
Democratic party of Tajikistan and some other movements. The fight between the former communist elite and opposition shifted from the political sphere to an ethnic and clan based one.
Tensions began in the spring of 1992 after opposition members took to the streets in demonstrations against the results of the 1991 presidential election. President
Rahmon Nabiyev
Rahmon Nabiyevich Nabiyev, also spelled Rakhmon Nabiev ( tg, Раҳмон Набиев; russian: Рахмон Набиевич Набиев), (5 October 1930 – 11 April 1993) was a Tajik politician who served as the First Secretary of the Comm ...
and Speaker of the
Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USS ...
Safarali Kenjayev orchestrated the dispersal of weapons to pro-government militias, while the opposition turned to
mujahidin in Afghanistan for military aid.
Conflict (1992–1993)
Fighting broke out on 5 May 1992 between old-guard supporters of the government and a loosely organized opposition composed of ethnic and regional groups from the
Gharm and
Gorno-Badakhshan areas (the latter were also known as
Pamiris
The Pamiris, russian: Пами́рцы, Pamírtsy, zh, s=帕米尔人, p=Pàmǐ'ěrrén, ur, are an Eastern Iranian ethnic group, native to the Badakhshan region of Central Asia, which includes the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Taj ...
). Ideologically, the opposition included
democratic liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
reformists and Islamists. The government, on the other hand, was dominated by people from the
Leninabadi region, which had also made up most of the ruling elite during the entire Soviet period. It was also supported by people from the Kulob region, who had held high posts in the
Ministry of Internal Affairs
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
in Soviet times. After many clashes, the Leninabadis were forced to accept a compromise and a new coalition government was formed, incorporating members of the opposition and eventually dominated by them.
On 7 September 1992, Nabiyev was captured by opposition protesters and forced at gunpoint to resign his presidency.
Political Construction Sites: Nation-building in Russia and the Post-Soviet States
'', page 76 Chaos and fighting between the opposing factions reigned outside of the capital
Dushanbe
Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (r ...
.
With the aid of the Russian military and
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
, the Leninabadi-Kulobi Popular Front forces routed the opposition in early and late 1992. The coalition government in the capital was forced to resign. On 12 December 1992 the
Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USS ...
(parliament), where the Leninabadi-Kulobi faction had held the majority of seats all along, convened and elected a new government under the leadership of
Emomali Rahmon
Emomali Rahmon (; born Emomali Sharipovich Rahmonov, tg, Эмомалӣ Шарӣпович Раҳмонов, script=Latn, italic=no, Emomalī Sharīpovich Rahmonov; ; born 5 October 1952) has been the 3rd President of Tajikistan since 16 Novem ...
, representing a shift in power from the old power based in Leninabad to the
militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
s from
Kulob, from which Rahmon came.
[''Between Marx and Muhammad''. ]Dilip Hiro
__NOTOC__
Dilip Hiro, born in Larkana, Pakistan is an Indian author, journalist, and commentator who specializes on the politics of South Asia and Middle East.
Career
Hiro was the chief analyst on the Middle Eastern, Central Asian, South Asian ...
.[''The Resurgence of Central Asia''. Ahmed Rashid]
The height of hostilities occurred from 1992 to 1993 and pitted Kulobi militias against an array of groups, including militants from the
Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan
The Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, also known as the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, is a banned Islamist political party in Tajikistan. Until 2015, when it was designated a terrorist organisation, it was the only legal Islami ...
(IRP) and ethnic minority Pamiris from
Gorno-Badakhshan. In large part due to the foreign support they received, the Kulobi militias were able to soundly defeat opposition forces and went on what has been described by
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
as an
ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
campaign against Pamiris and
Garmis.
[Human Rights Watch Press Backgrounder on Tajikistan]
Human Rights Watch The campaign was concentrated in areas south of the capital and included the murder of prominent individuals, mass killings, the burning of villages and the expulsion of the Pamiri and Garmi population into Afghanistan. The violence was particularly concentrated in
Qurghonteppa
, native_name_lang=tg
, image_skyline = Бохтар 2018.jpg
, imagesize = 300px
, image_caption = Bokhtar in 2018
, image_flag =
, image_seal =
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Tajikistan
, pushpin_label_position =bott ...
, the power base of the IRP and home to many Garmis. Tens of thousands were killed or fled to Afghanistan.
[Tajikistan: Refugee reintegration and conflict prevention]
Open Society Institute
Human Rights Watch
Continued conflict (1993–1997)
In Afghanistan, the opposition reorganized and rearmed with the aid of the
Jamiat-i-Islami
Jamayat-E-Islami (also rendered as Jamiat-e-Islami and Jamiati Islami; fa, جمعیت اسلامی افغانستان, lit=Islamic Society), sometimes shortened to Jamiat, is a predominantly Tajik political party in Afghanistan. It was origi ...
. The group's leader
Ahmad Shah Masoud
Ahmad Shah Massoud (Dari/Pashto: , ; September 2, 1953September 9, 2001) was an Afghan politician and military commander. He was a powerful guerrilla commander during the resistance against the Soviet–Afghan War, Soviet occupation between 1979 a ...
became a benefactor of the Tajik opposition. Later in the war the opposition organized under an umbrella group called the
United Tajik Opposition, or UTO. Elements of the UTO, especially in the
Tavildara
Tavildara is a village and jamoat in Tajikistan. It is located in Sangvor District tg, Ноҳияи Сангвор
, image_map = Location of Tavildara District in Tajikistan.png
, mapsize =
, map_caption = Location of the district i ...
region, became the
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU; uz, Ўзбекистон исломий ҳаракати/Oʻzbekiston islomiy harakati; russian: Исламское движение Узбекистана ) was a militant Islamist group formed in 1998 ...
, while the leadership of the UTO was opposed to the formation of the organization.
Ahmed Rashid
Ahmed Rashid (Urdu:; born 1948 in Pakistan) is a journalist and best-selling foreign policy author of several books about Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia.
Life and career
Ahmed Rashid was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He attended Ma ...
. ''Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia''. Orient Longman
Orient Blackswan Pvt. Ltd. (formerly Orient Longman India, commonly referred to as Orient Longman), is an Indian publishing house headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana.
The company publishes academic, professional and general works as well as s ...
. Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
. 2002.
Other combatants and armed bands that flourished in this civil chaos simply reflected the breakdown of central authority rather than loyalty to a political faction. In response to the violence the
United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan The United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) was a peacekeeping mission established by the United Nations Security Council in December 1994 and extended on several occasions until its mandate expired in May 2000. Its purpose was t ...
was deployed. Most fighting in the early part of the war occurred in the southern part of the country, but by 1996 the rebels were battling Russian troops in the capital city of
Dushanbe
Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (r ...
. Islamic radicals from northern
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
also began to fight Russian troops in the region.
Armistice and aftermath
A
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
-sponsored
armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
finally ended the war in 1997. This was in part fostered by the
Inter-Tajik Dialogue The Inter-Tajik Dialogue was an effort of Track II diplomacy which brought together factions of the Tajik Civil War
The Tajikistani Civil War ( tg, Ҷанги шаҳрвандии Тоҷикистон, translit=Jangi shahrvandiyi Tojikiston / ...
, a
Track II diplomacy
Track II diplomacy or "backchannel diplomacy" is the practice of "non-governmental, informal and unofficial contacts and activities between private citizens or groups of individuals, sometimes called 'non-state actors. It contrasts with track I dip ...
initiative in which the main players were brought together by international actors, namely the United States and Russia. The peace agreement eliminated the Leninabad region (Khujand) from power. Presidential elections were held on 6 November 1999.
The
UTO warned in letters to
United Nations Secretary General
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
The role of the secretary-g ...
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...
and Tajik President
Emomali Rahmon
Emomali Rahmon (; born Emomali Sharipovich Rahmonov, tg, Эмомалӣ Шарӣпович Раҳмонов, script=Latn, italic=no, Emomalī Sharīpovich Rahmonov; ; born 5 October 1952) has been the 3rd President of Tajikistan since 16 Novem ...
on 23 June 1997 that it would not sign the proposed peace agreement on 27 June if prisoner exchanges and the allocation of jobs in the coalition government were not outlined in the agreement.
Akbar Turajonzoda, second-in-command of the UTO, repeated this warning on 26 June, but said both sides were negotiating. President Rahmon, UTO leader
Sayid Abdulloh Nuri and Russian President
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
met in the
Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
on 26 June to finish negotiating the peace agreement. The Tajik government had previously pushed for settling these issues after the two sides signed the agreement, with the posts in the coalition government decided by a joint commission for national reconciliation and prisoner exchanges by a future set of negotiations. Russian Foreign Minister
Yevgeny Primakov
Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov (29 October 1929 – 26 June 2015) was a Russian politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Russia from 1998 to 1999. During his long career, he also served as Foreign Minister, Speaker of the Supreme ...
met with the Foreign Ministers of Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to discuss the proposed peace accord.
[Tajikistan: Opposition warns it may not sign peace accord]
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty[Tajikistan: Opposition may not sign peace accord tomorrow]
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
By the end of the war, Tajikistan was in a state of complete devastation. Around 1.2 million people were refugees inside and outside the country. Tajikistan's physical infrastructure, government services and economy were in disarray and much of the population was surviving on subsistence handouts from international aid organizations. The United Nations established a
Mission of Observers in December 1994, maintaining peace negotiations until the warring sides signed a comprehensive peace agreement in 1997.
[Tajikistan: rising from the ashes of civil war]
United Nations
Targeting of journalists
Journalists were particularly targeted for assassination and dozens of Tajik journalists were killed. Many more fled the country, leading to a
brain drain. Notable individuals murdered include journalist and politician
Otakhon Latifi
Otakhon Latifi ( Tajik:Отахон Латифи) (March 18, 1936 – September 22, 1998) was a noted journalist and politician from Tajikistan.
He was born in the town of Pendjikent. Under the Soviet Union, he was both ''Pravda'' and ''Izve ...
, journalist and Jewish leader
Meirkhaim Gavrielov Meirkhaim Gavrielov (25 August 1927 – 9 June 1998) (russian: Миерхаим Гавриэлов) was a Bukharan Jewish journalist murdered in Tajikistan.
Life
Meirkhaim Gavrielov was a prominent member of the Tajikistani media for fifty year ...
, politician
Safarali Kenjayev and four members of the
United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan The United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) was a peacekeeping mission established by the United Nations Security Council in December 1994 and extended on several occasions until its mandate expired in May 2000. Its purpose was t ...
:
Yutaka Akino, a noted Japanese scholar of Central Asian history; Maj.
Ryszard Szewczyk Ryszard () is the Polish equivalent of "Richard", and may refer to:
*Ryszard Andrzejewski (born 1976), Polish rap musician, songwriter and producer
*Ryszard Bakst (1926–1999), Polish and British pianist and piano teacher of Jewish/Polish/Russian ...
from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
; Maj.
Adolfo Scharpegge from
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
; and
Jourajon Mahramov from Tajikistan;
and documentary filmmaker
Arcady Ruderman
Arkady Abramovich Ruderman ( be, Аркадзь Абрамавіч Рудэрман, russian: Арка́дий Абра́мович Рудерман; 7 January 1950 – 22 September 1992) was a Belarusian documentary filmmaker who was killed durin ...
, from
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
.
Gallery
File:Tajikistan satellite photo.jpg, Satellite photograph of Tajikistan
File:Destroyed turret of a T-62 in Tajikistan.jpg, Destroyed turret of a T-62
The T-62 is a Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tank that was first introduced in 1961. As a further development of the T-54/T-55, T-55 series, the T-62 retained many similar design elements of its predecessor including low profile and thick ...
File:Tajikistan fractions in civil war.gif, Tajikistan factions in civil war: Leading clans: Northern Sughd Region
Sughd Province ( tg, Вилояти Суғд, Viloyati Sughd, Sogdia Region , fa, ولایت سغد) is one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces ( tg, вилоятҳо, viloyatho , fa, ولایت) that make up ...
(red), Southern Khatlon Region
Khatlon Region ( tg, Вилояти Хатлон, ''Viloyati Xatlon''), one of the four provinces of Tajikistan ( tg, вилоят, ''Viloyat''), is the most populous of the four first level administrative regions. It is situated in the southwest ...
(blue), Eastern Islamic (green)
File:Ti-cities.gif, The most important cities involved in the conflict. 1) Khujand
Khujand ( tg, Хуҷанд, Khujand; Uzbek: Хўжанд, romanized: Хo'jand; fa, خجند, Khojand), sometimes spelled Khodjent and known as Leninabad (russian: Ленинабад, Leninabad; tg, Ленинобод, Leninobod; fa, لنی ...
2) Dushanbe
Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (r ...
3) Gharm 4) Qurghonteppa
, native_name_lang=tg
, image_skyline = Бохтар 2018.jpg
, imagesize = 300px
, image_caption = Bokhtar in 2018
, image_flag =
, image_seal =
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Tajikistan
, pushpin_label_position =bott ...
5) Kulob
See also
*
Tajikistan-Uzbekistan relations
*
United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan The United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) was a peacekeeping mission established by the United Nations Security Council in December 1994 and extended on several occasions until its mandate expired in May 2000. Its purpose was t ...
*
1992 Tajikistan protests
References
Further reading
*
*
*
* Mullojonov, Parviz. ''The History of the Tajik Civil War, 1992–1997'' (2022
excerpt
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Key texts and agreements in the Tajikistan peace processTajikistan: Opposition criticizes Dushanbe's plan for CommissionTajikistan: Two Russian military personnel killedTajikistan: Secular – not Shari'a – law prevails in eastern mountains
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tajikistani Civil War
1990s in Tajikistan
1992 in Tajikistan
1993 in Tajikistan
1994 in Tajikistan
1995 in Tajikistan
1996 in Tajikistan
1997 in Tajikistan
Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Asia
Civil wars post-1945
Conflicts in 1992
Conflicts in 1993
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Conflicts in 1996
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Ethnicity-based civil wars
Post-Soviet conflicts
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Russia–Tajikistan relations
Wars involving Afghanistan
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Tajikistani Civil War refugees
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