The fight took place on Sunday in the village of Chek, which is divided between the two former Soviet republics, the Kyrgyz border guard service said. It accused the Uzbeks of trespassing onto Kyrgyz territory. "The Uzbek border guards shot a Kyrgyz border guard in the leg, wounding him, and took him away to their territory," Salkyn Abdikariyeva, a spokeswoman for the service, said. Uzbekistan's foreign ministry could not be reached for comment.
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are at odds over the region's water resources. Rivers originating in Kyrgyzstan flow to Uzbekistan, which says Kyrgyz hydroelectric plants disrupt the water supplies needed for irrigation. The two countries are also involved in border disputes and routinely argue over the price and payment terms for Uzbek gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan.