DUSHANBE, February 22, 2013, Asia-Plus – Afghan border police officers completed a two-week practical course on winter patrolling at the Tajik Border Troops Training Center in Hisor on February 22. The course was organized by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan.

According to the OSCE Office, fifteen mid-rank and front-line officers from the Afghan Border Police attended the course, which was held as part of the OSCE Office’s Patrol Programming and Leadership project.

The training took place in the mountainous area of Khoja Obigarm, some 50 kilometers north of Dushanbe and more than 2,000 meters above sea level.  Participants were taught winter survival skills, including bivouac, snowshoe and ice axe techniques, as well as patrolling, reconnaissance and observation in snow-covered mountainous areas and first-aid skills.

“The course was an example of the practical assistance OSCE field operations can provide in strengthening border security on the Tajik-Afghan border and developing enhanced regional co-operation in Central Asia," said Hans Peter Larsen, Acting Head of OSCE Office in Tajikistan.

Representatives of the Tajik Border Troops and the Afghan Embassy in Tajikistan have requested the continuation of the OSCE Office project, which has received generous financial support from the Embassy of Japan in Tajikistan, through 2014.