Batken, Kyrgyzstan - IOM is responding to humanitarian needs as an escalation of armed clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has left dozens dead and over 130,000 displaced (Kyrgyz government figures) in the border area around the southern region of Batken. 

On 16 September 2022, the Government’s Disaster Response Unit conducted a rapid needs assessment of affected populations and locations. The UN’s Emergency Assessment and Rapid Emergency Assessment Coordination Team (REACT) has been active since 19 September, with IOM leading the cluster on Emergency Shelter, Camp Coordination and Non-Food Items.

Temperatures will soon begin to fall, leaving the affected population at risk.  Even before the conflict Batken was considered the poorest region in the Central Asian country, with limited access to basic services such as education, medicine, and healthcare.

The most pressing needs are medicine, hygiene supplies, psychological help, first aid, building and reconstruction materials, warm clothes, mattresses, blankets, electric kettles, kitchen sets, and fuel. 

In the remote border areas, filling stations are closed and in the receiving areas there is a shortage of fuel, including for vehicles operated by volunteers who provide evacuation support and deliver humanitarian aid.

IOM has begun distribution of stoves, flashlights, power cables, disposable plates and more in close coordination of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Speaking from the sub-office in Osh, IOM’s Tilek Orunbaev said “every single one of the items we are providing is crucial. It’s also vital to have precise and up-to-the-minute information of the population needs. We are in regular contact with the most affected persons and their families to ensure we have the right data.”

For more information please contact Joe Lowry at IOM's regional office in Vienna on +43660 3776404, email jlowry@iom.int, or Bermet Moldobaeva in IOM Bishkek on +996312651730, email bmoldobaeva@iom.int