Beginning in early August, a series of violent incidents have brought more attention to the prospects for large scale conflict in Central Asia than at any time since the end of Tajikistan’s civil war. Taliban forces launched a new offensive in northern Afghanistan, bringing that country’s civil war and a potential refugee problem to the border of the ill-prepared Tajikistan. This offensive coincided with a series of low-level incursions into Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan by armed detachments of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). A number of other unlinked incidents have added to a growing sense of general insecurity.

ICG releases today a new Central Asia Briefing (18 October 2000), which gives an overview of the recent incidents, examines the common thread of Islamic fundamentalism, and highlights some of the responses by key governments.