TASHKENT, June 14 (AVN) - Uzbek border guards, army units and formations ensure reliable protection of the border with Afghanistan, a high-ranking official of the state border protection committee told the Military News Agency on Thursday.
The official refuted media reports claiming that Islamic guerrillas had broken through the Uzbek border from Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
According to him, western nations help a lot to strengthen the border and enhance combat capabilities of the Uzbek army. In particular, US Ambassador to Uzbekistan John Herbst has handed over body armours, binoculars and other materiel worth USD55,000 to the state border protection committee. This materiel has been shipped to the units guarding border with Afghanistan. Earlier Uzbek border guards got radio stations and night vision devices in the framework of the US government programme on export control and border protection.
According to the official, the US aid to Uzbekistan intended for strengthening the border will run to almost USD3m this year.