Kyrgyzstan says ceasefire with Tajikistan holding after clashes

Kyrgyzstansaid aceasefirewithTajikistanwasholdingon Sunday, as it accused citizens from its Central Asian neighbour of crimes duringthe pair's worstclashesat their contested border in decades.

The Kyrgyz interior ministry said that casualties on its side had risen to over 160 with 34 deaths, 31 of whom were civilians.

The ministry also said it had opened 11 criminal cases targeting citizens ofTajikistanin connection with the violence, including investigations into murder and illegal border crossings.

Clashesbetween communities over land and water along the long-contested border are regular occurrences, with border guards often getting involved.

But the violence that erupted on Thursday was by far the most serious during the ex-Soviet pair's 30 years of independence.

Tajikistan, a closed authoritarian state, is understood to have also suffered casualties and damages, but has made far fewer statements on the conflict.

By Thursday evening aceasefiredeal had been drawn up, butKyrgyzstanacknowledged that both sides had continued shooting on Friday and Saturday, before the national security chiefs met to reinforce theceasefireon Saturday afternoon.

Since then "no incidents of shooting have been registered," a spokesman forKyrgyzstan's national security committee told AFP by telephone at 1100 GMT, describing the border as "quiet, peaceful, calm".

The two national security chiefs also agreed a border protocol early on Sunday,Kyrgyzstan's main government website reported, offering few details on the agreement.

There was no immediate indication that progress had been made delimiting disputed sections which account for more than a third of the 971-kilometre (604 mile) border between the countries.

Kyrgyzstanon Sunday also accusedTajikistanof mistreating 10 citizens it said were taken hostage during the conflict before being released on Saturday evening.

The people, including the head of one of the border villages, were left bruisedafterbeing "beaten with sticks" during their abduction,Kyrgyzstan's health minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliyevsaid.

"They showed us their bruises. We put nine of them (in hospital), one went to find his family," the minister said.

More than 30,000 Kyrgyz citizens were evacuated during the conflict that Kyrgyz authorities said saw dozens of homes burned on their side of the border.

Both Russia, which maintains military bases in the country, and neighbouring Uzbekistan said they were prepared to mediate in the conflict.

Theclashesfollowed tensions between Kyrgyz and Tajiks over a key piece of river infrastructure on Wednesday.