Kazakhs crossing the border with Turkmenistan have to walk through neutral territory, a two-kilometer stretch, during extreme heat, a Lada.kz user who filmed the crossing on video said on July 18.

– Settlers, mostly ethnic Kazakhs, crossed a two-kilometer stretch of neutral territory on foot from one border to another. In the heat of 47 ° C and with bags. We all know how hot it gets there in the summer,” said the author of the video.

Earlier, Kazhydromet warned that in the Mangistau region bordering Turkmenistan, a heat of 40 to 45 degrees in the shade is expected.

According to the laws, neither the Turkmen nor the Kazakh side will allow drivers with vehicles and other accompanying persons to enter the neutral territory, so people have to walk with bags, and among them there are always women with children and the elderly.

Representatives of the border service of Kazakhstan told the escorts that, according to the job description, they did not have the right to let vehicles into neutral territory. In turn, the author of the video suggested launching a taxi between the borders at least during the period when the action to resettle ethnic Kazakhs in Mangistau will again take place in order to avoid heart attacks in the elderly or other emergencies.

In May, Turkmen news reported that on June 2, 490 ethnic Kazakhs from Turkmenistan would travel to Kazakhstan on a train of the Turkmen Railways for permanent residence.

It was planned that the train would go along the route Turkmenbashi - Bereket - Serhetyaka - Bolashak. In Bolashak, the Turkmen locomotive will be replaced by a Kazakh one. The end point will be the city of Zhanaozen, Mangistau region of Kazakhstan.

In 2021, ethnic Kazakhs returned home from Turkmenistan twice: 152 in February and 256 in May. People could not leave the country for a year due to closed borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan