Russian troops strengthen Afghan-Tajik border

By Sergei Yakovlev

DUSHANBE, March 3 (Reuters) - Russian border guards patrolling ex-Soviet Tajikistan's southern frontier said on Friday they had tightened security after fighting flared in neighbouring Afghanistan.

``Russian border guards have strengthened security at the Tajik-Afghan border because of fighting between the Taleban movement and anti-Taleban divisions in the north of Afghanistan,'' the border guards said in a statement.

They added that the measures were taken partly to control the possible movement north by refugees fleeing the war.

The announcement was issued a day after Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov and Russia's Acting President Vladimir Putin discussed the conflict by telephone and its possible effect on stability throughout Central Asia.

A senior border guard told Reuters some fighting had occurred four to six km (three to four miles) from the border. There were fears of Afghan missiles falling on Tajik territory.

Guns fell silent on Friday in Afghanistan, after two days of heavy clashes between the Taleban and its opponents led by commander Ahmad Shah Masood.

Both fronts, in Taleban-held Kabul province and further north on the border with Tajikistan, scene of fierce clashes after seven months, were reported calm by the warring sides.

Tajikistan shares a 1,500-km (950-mile) border with Afghanistan and the proximity is a source of concern for the mountainous state which relies heavily on Russian troops.

About 20,000 Russian soldiers patrol the border and help keep the peace in Tajikistan, where Islamic-led forces fought Moscow-backed government troops in a five-year civil war ending in 1997. They also aim to stem the flood of Afghan opium and heroin which passes north towards markets in Europe and beyond.