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| - Kyrgyzstan said Thursday that the death toll from clashes at its disputed border with Tajikistan had increased to three, including one child victim A statement from the health ministry said that the Central Asian country had suffered 51 casualties during the fighting, including three fatalities. The fatalities included "a girl born in 2008", the health ministry said, noting that she had died on the way to the hospital. Kyrgyzstan said on Thursday that it had reached a ceasefire with Tajikistan after a day of intense fighting at a disputed section of the border that the two impoverished, mountainous countries share. Kyrgyzstan's foreign ministry said in a statement that a "complete ceasefire" had been agreed from 8:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Thursday, with military forces returning to bases. Tajikistan did not immediately release an official statement on the agreement. The Central Asian neighbours have been locked in border disputes for decades and there have been sporadic clashes along the frontier for years. But Thursday's outbreak of fighting involving their two militaries was rare and raised fears of the clashes escalating into a wider conflict. Tajikistan, a closed strongly authoritarian state, made fewer statements than Kyrgyzstan as the fighting raged. Its national security committee said earlier Thursday that two people had been admitted to hospital with gunshot wounds, one of whom was in a serious condition. The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that as many as three Tajik citizens had died in the conflict, with 31 injured, citing a source in the municipal administration of the Tajik town Isfara. The fighting followed a reported conflict over water infrastructure at the frontier between the two, which both gained independence with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. tol-cr/har/pvh
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