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INTRODUCTION
The years of independence and transition were not an easy time for Tajikistan. In 1992 the armed conflict started followed by the long period of instability and confrontation between the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan (RT) and the United Tajik Opposition (UTO).
During the civil war almost 85,000 people were killed, approximately one million people (every sixth citizen of Tajikistan) were displaced, more than 55,000 children lost their parents and 35,000 houses were destroyed. Damaging realities and consequences of the war, continuous clashes between armed groups, difficulties of the reconstruction of destroyed industries, economic crises, threat of the disintegration of the country made the warring parties start peace talks. The negotiation process resulted in the conclusion of the General Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in T ajikistan signed by Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov and UTO Leader Said Abdullo Nuri on 27 June 1997 in Moscow. It put an end to five years armed conflict in T ajikistan and marked the beginning of the active process of post- war reconstruction and reintegration. Regardless of enormous difficulties, the Tajik society succeeded in overcoming the anger and hatred and achieving peace and high level of national consent and understanding.
This paper examines the causes of the inter-Tajik conflict, actors and conclusions of civil war in T ajikistan.
CAUSES OF THE INTER-TAJIK CONFLICT
Many papers have been written about the inter-T ajik conflict and its causes. Drawing on these works, one can clearly see that the Tajik conflict was multi-faceted with many different causes, but the most important are the following:
1. The conflict between local elites over power and resources in the territory after the break-up of Soviet Union;
2. The conflict between the state and Islam;
3. Political resistance to reform (reformers vs. old guard).
Tajikistan is a landlocked mountainous country situated to the north of Afghanistan, to the south-west of China, to the south of the Kyrgyz Republic and to the east of Uzbekistan. With an area of 143,100 square kilometers, it is similar in size to Tunisia or Greece. High mountains, arid plateau, and glaciers cover more than 93 per cent of the country. With a predominantly agrarian population, Tajikistan has some of the most densely populated arable land in the world....