Kyrgyz general fears offensive by IMU militants

While Central Asia has been bracing itself for a spring offensive by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, (IMU), Kyrgyz general Askar Mameev warned a military campaign could be on a bigger scale than its actions in 1999 and 2000. According to the Institute of War and Peace Reporting on Thursday, Mameev issued the warning at a meeting of regional security officials in the capital Bishkek in February. He estimated the number of IMU militants in Tajikistan as being between 1,500 and 2,000 many of whom wintered in camps in the mountainous east of Tajikistan. The IMU's territorial objective is the Fergana valley, which straddles Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The ramshackle border delineation of the valley sets it at the heart of disputes between the three countries, each of which wants control over this highly fertile region. At present, Uzbekistan controls the Fergana's central lowlands, Kyrgyzstan its upper reaches and Tajikistan its Western access point. The valley's infrastructure for transportation, energy, water management and commerce requires close inter-state cooperation. But in recent years the countries have found this increasingly difficult as they pursued separate economic development strategies, the IWPR said. While the IMU threat is proving divisive is some areas, since the wave of terrorist attacks, which began in 1998, the Central Asian countries appear to have adopted a new level of cooperativeness. In the past year they have held a series of high-level meetings and agreements on joint security measures. Under the auspices of the "Shanghai Forum", Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have collaborated in countering terrorism and religious extremism. Another sign of the quickening cooperation is the planned establishment of an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Asia (OSCA).