Tajik border troops complete OSCE-supported winter patrol course

DUSHANBE, 31 January 2014 – Tajik border guard officers from the Main Directorate of Tajik Border Troops completed a two-week OSCE patrol winter course in Gissar today. The course was organized by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan.

Fifteen border guard officers who mainly come from border detachments at the Tajik-Afghan border attended the training course in the mountainous area of Khoja Obigarm, some 50 kilometres north of Dushanbe and more than 2,000 metres above sea level.

Participants improved their knowledge about border surveillance and patrolling mountainous areas in winter conditions, and rapid assessment of avalanche conditions in the patrolling area. They have also learned how to use topographical maps, avalanche transceivers and other winter equipment for patrolling.

"Border security on the Tajik-Afghan border will be of a higher priority in the coming years,” said Ambassador Markus Mueller, Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan at the graduation ceremony. “Competent patrolling is a key element of efficient border management, and the OSCE will continue to support it.”

The course was conducted as part of a patrol programming and leadership project aimed at enhancing the capacities of Tajik and Afghan border staff in detection and intercepting illegal cross-border movements.