Afghanistan–Turkmenistan border

The border starts at the tripoint with Iran on the Tedzhen river. Then proceeds eastwards in a series of mostly straight lines for about , until reaching the Kushk River near the Afghan town of Torghundi, which it follows southwards for a section. It then proceeds across land for in a north-eastwards direction until reaching the Murghab River, which it follows northwards for . It then continues across land north-eastwards for , until reaching the Amu Darya river just to the north of the Afghan town of Khamyab. The border then follows the thalweg of this river up to the tripoint with Uzbekistan. The border traverses a thinly populated area consisting mostly of desert and some hills, except for the easternmost section where the Amu Darya is paralleled by a road and railway on the Turkmen side. ==History==

The border was inherited from the old Soviet Union-Afghan border, which largely took its current shape during the 19th-century Anglo-Russian rivalry in Central Asia known as the Great Game. With the Russian Empire having conquered the Khanate of Khiva and the Emirate of Bukhara, and with the British Empire controlling the British Raj, the two powers agreed to leave Afghanistan as an independent buffer state between them. There have been a number of incidents in recent years connected to the ongoing conflict and instability in Afghanistan, prompting Turkmenistan to increase its military presence on the frontier. In 2017 Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow personally visited the border to inspect security arrangements there. After the Taliban seized many regions in Afghanistan in 2021, a number of Afghan military and civilians crossed the border into Turkmenistan. ==Incidents==

• There were several incidents along the border in 2014. In February Turkmen border guards killed a militant who crossed the border illegally and captured two others. In retaliation three Turkmen border guards were killed later that month. In May that year three Turkmen guards were killed by an armed group crossing the border from Ghormach District, Afghanistan. • In October 2015, several Taliban fighters were chased onto an island in the Amu Darya by Afghan forces, forcing Turkmenistan's border security to prevent them entering their territory. This incident occurred a few weeks after Turkmenistan strongly protested Kazakhstan's president Nursultan Nazarbayev expressing concern about the security situation along the Afghan-Turkmen frontier. • In 2017, four fighters believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State were apprehended crossing illegally into Turkmenistan. • On 3 January 2021, a skirmish occurred at the Afghan-Turkmen border between the Taliban forces and the Turkmen border guards. The incident was reported by Hilal Balkhi, head of the Jowzjan province's department of culture and information, quoted by Aamaj News. It is alleged that three days earlier, Turkmen border troops killed one Afghan civilian and beat another. On 3 January, Taliban militants arrived at the border and the Turkmen border forces allegedly fired at them. The Taliban returned fire, and the militants suffered no losses. ==Border crossings==

• Torghundi (AFG) -Serhetabat (TKM) (road and rail) • Aqina (AFG) - Ymamnazar (TKM) (rail) ==Settlements near the border==

Afghanistan • Murichaq • Jalajin • Muhammad Tashi • Soltan Robat • Yaka Haji • Bai Khan • Kawk • Khamyab • Qarqin • Keleft Turkmenistan • Serhetabat • Bashbeden • Khodzhali • Ymamnazar • Bosaga ==See also==