As fighting between security forces and the Taliban intensifies in Badakhshan and at least 1,037 Afghan troops retreat to Tajikistan, officials are now talking about sending new troops to the border with Afghanistan. Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon has ordered an additional 20,000 troops to the Afghan-Afghan border, which is responsible for strengthening border security between the two countries, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

In recent days, security in Afghanistan’s northern and northeastern provinces, including Kunduz and Badakhshan, is worrying. The Tajik border guards confirmed that more than 1,000 Afghan troops had taken refuge in Tajikistan after retreating to fight the Taliban. The Taliban had taken control of six districts bordering Tajikistan and China. Tajik media, meanwhile, reported that Imam Ali Rehman, in separate contacts with his Afghan and Russian counterparts, expressed concern about rising insecurity in Badakhshan. In a conversation with Presidents Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Vladimir Putin, Imam Ali Rahman has stressed the need to pay attention to the security of the two countries’ shared borders.

In a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Vladimir Putin assured his Tajik counterpart that the Russians would take action and support Tajikistan if the security situation in Tajikistan’s neighborhood deteriorated. They will. Meanwhile, Imam Ali Rehman said in a telephone call with President Ghani that the Tajik border guards had allowed Afghan security forces and several Tajik citizens to come to Tajikistan out of goodwill and good neighborliness. At the same time, the Tajik president has assured that he is ready to support the Afghan government in the event of an increase in displacement in the Badakhshan and Kunduz provinces.

The report comes as the Taliban have stepped up military pressure in the north and northeast of the country over the past two months. Badakhshan province has suffered the most, and the Taliban have taken control of 16 districts in the region. It is said that the Taliban and foreign fighters, including Uyghurs, Tajiks, and Uzbeks, are now moving to districts bordering Tajikistan and China. A number of local sources stress that if the security of these districts is not taken care of, foreign fighters will soon start attacking the Tajik and Chinese border guards.