Tajikistan has sent a protest note to the Afghan authorities following an alleged violation of its airspace, damage to residential buildings and the death of a civilian in Darvoz district of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), the Tajik Foreign Ministry said.

According to the ministry’s Information and Press Department, armed clashes in recent days in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province, particularly in districts bordering Tajikistan’s Darvoz district, have posed a threat to the security of Tajik border areas and resulted in violations of international law.

The ministry said Tajikistan’s airspace was violated during the fighting, several homes were damaged and one civilian was killed in Darvoz district.

In response, Tajikistan delivered a formal protest note to the Afghan side, expressing strong concern over the incident and calling on the Afghan authorities to respect the inviolability of Tajikistan’s state border.

Dushanbe also demanded that effective measures be taken to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.

21-year-old woman killed

An official source in the Darvoz district administration provided Asia-Plus with details of the incident, identifying the victim as 21-year-old Yosuman Yatimzoda, a resident of Dashtak village.

She leaves behind a young child. According to sources, Yatimzoda was also pregnant.

The incident occurred at around 6:40 p.m. on August 13. Yatimzoda was at home doing household chores when a bullet entered through a window and struck her in the liver area.

“The woman was taken to the district central hospital, but she died on the way,” an Asia-Plus source said.

Her funeral is being held on August 14 after Friday prayers in her home village. Her parents, who had been working in Russia, are returning to Tajikistan.

Tajik law enforcement agencies are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

On the morning of August 14, President Emomali Rahmon spoke by telephone with Darvoz district chairman Umedjon Nosirzoda and expressed condolences to Yatimzoda’s family.

The president instructed local authorities to provide financial and other assistance to the family and to take measures to support the upbringing of her young child.

What is happening in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan?

The incident occurred amid armed clashes in Afghanistan’s Nusay district of Badakhshan Province, located across the border from Darvoz district in Tajikistan.

Fighting has been reported in Nusay since August 11 between Taliban forces and supporters of influential commander Juma Khan Fateh.

According to Afghanistan International, Taliban helicopters struck positions held by Fateh’s fighters in the Jisang area near the district administrative center on August 13. Additional forces were also reportedly deployed to the area from Kunduz, Balkh and Kabul.

Tensions in Badakhshan had been rising before the latest clashes. In late July, Taliban forces reportedly began deploying additional troops to the province amid preparations for a larger operation against armed opposition groups.

Clashes and attacks were also reported at the time in several other districts of Badakhshan, including Zebak and Yaftal-e Payin.

Not the first border incident

Security along the Tajik-Afghan border deteriorated in late 2025.

On November 26 and 30, two armed attacks were launched from Afghan territory against border districts in Tajikistan. Five Chinese nationals were killed and another five were wounded.

One of the attacks took place in Darvoz district and targeted employees of a Chinese road construction company.

On the night of December 23–24, 2025, three armed men crossed from Afghanistan into Tajikistan’s Shamsiddin-Shohin district in Khatlon province. The three men were killed in a subsequent clash, while two officers of Tajikistan’s Border Forces also died.

Further armed clashes were reported along the border in January 2026.

Against this backdrop, representatives of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) said in June that they were particularly concerned about cross-border shelling from Afghanistan into Tajikistan and planned to strengthen security measures along this section of the border.