Tension on the Roof of the World: Failure of July 2012 ‘Special’ Operation in Khorog, Tajikistan

Abstract

The paper analyses the July 2012 events in Khorog, focusing on the central government of Tajikistan’s failure during the military operation in this city and the locals’ perception of measures taken by the government. Many scholars and analysts believe that the central government made an immense mistake by sending special purpose police units and military troops to Khorog in an attempt to seize former field commanders, resulting in a failed operation. Thus, this paper attempts to answer the following questions: What were the reasons that brought about the failure of the special operation in Khorog?; Why was the government not able to detain all the former opposition field commanders?, and; how do Pamiri people interpret the special operation launched by the central government? The study adds scholarly analysis to the information gap on the current theme (the special operations in Khorog) and will also contribute to conflict studies in politics and security.