Senior officials from Kyrgyzstan’s  government called the Uzbek military manoeuvres a provocation and President ALmazbek Atambayev cancelled a trip to Tashkent set for June to attend a conference of the region’s quasi military group, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

“The Kyrgyz people are not the ones who will be kneeling, fearing [Uzbekistan’s] forces,” Mr Atambayev said at a press conference.

This appears to be an escalation of tension between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan argues that Uzbekistan’s actions violate a bilateral agreement against the militarisation of the border.

Large portions of the 1,300-km border between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are undefined, dotted with enclaves and exclaves, where Kyrgyz and Uzbek people live. There are sizable Uzbek and Kyrgyz minorities in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, respectively.

Now, access to some border crossing points has been restricted. Officials in southern Kyrgyzstan reported that some anti-Uzbekistan demonstrations have broken out.

Kyrgyz PM Temir Sariyev appealed for calm.

“Nobody forbids protests but let us not be enemies from within, we must be united. Without unity we cannot solve foreign policy issues,” he said.

The unrest also comes at a sensitive time for Kyrgyzstan. It is holding regional elections in five southern cities, including Osh, on March 27.