Urta Tagay (russian: Урта-Тагай, Urta-Tagay, also ) is an island in the middle of the river
Panj (a source river of the
Amu Darya) on the border of
Afghanistan and
Tajikistan in
Central Asia. It lies between the towns
Farkhor and
Yangi Qala
Yangi Qala District is a district in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. Economically the population of this district is primarily involved in agriculture. The main crops are rice and wheat, and the surplus rice is exporting to neighboring districts a ...
. It is administered by
Takhar Province, Afghanistan. It was the subject of two border conflicts:
one in 1913 and
another in 1925.
In 1925, claiming that the main channel of the river had shifted to the south of the island, placing it in Soviet territory, Soviet troops occupied the island. Despite the diplomatic claim, it is believed the island was seized to prevent Uzbek rebels from crossing the river to attack the Soviets.
Kabul protested the seizure, and the dispute was taken to a joint commission which decided in favour of Afghanistan. Afterwards, the island was returned.
Sources
*J. Bruce Amstutz. ''Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation''. DIANE Publishing, 1994 , 978-0-7881-1111-2
Available here.
References
Landforms of Afghanistan
Afghanistan–Tajikistan border
River islands of Asia
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