SHOOTOUT IN RAHMON'S CORRAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L DUSHANBE 000720 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN, DS/IP/SCA, DS/TIA/ITA, DS/T/ATA E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2018 TAGS: PREL ASEC PTER PGOV KCRM TI SUBJECT: SHOOTOUT IN RAHMON'S CORRAL Classified By: Ambassador Jacobson; reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) On May 27, Tajik Ministry of Interior and State Committee on National Security forces raided the home of Suhrob Langariev in Kulyab. When government forces secured a perimeter, Langariev and a group of fighters opened fire. During a lull in the shootout, Langariev's father attempted to convince his son to come out of the house peacefully. Langariev refused, and the shootout continued. After 5 hours, government forces secured Langariev's surrender and arrested him and 7 others. During the shootout, 2 innocent bystanders and one officer from the State Committee for National Security's Alpha Unit were killed. Several others were injured. ¶2. (C) During the operation, Embassy security noted multiple Kamaz trucks moving armed soldiers around Dushanbe. Additional checkpoints were set up around Kulyab and Dushanbe. All vehicles entering Dushanbe from the south gate received detailed inspections from plain-clothes officials. ¶3. (C) Suhrob Langariev is 29 years old and is the youngest of 4 brothers who were active in the People's Front (affiliated with President Rahmon) during the Tajik Civil War. One brother, Langari, was a field commander who was killed in 1993. Another brother, Faizali, is a Major General in the Ministry of Defense; and yet another brother, Bakhtiur, was until recently the Head of the Ministry of Interior's Organized Crime Department. There are rumors that Bakhtiur Langariev was dismissed from his position one week ago. ¶4. (C) According to official sources, Suhrob Langariev has been wanted by the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Investigations Department for the past three years for drug dealing. ¶5. (C) The Langariev brothers are all rumored to operate significant drug trafficking rings in coordination with Afghan smugglers. A local news source reported that the Ministry of Interior believed there were more than 100 kilograms of heroin in Langariev's house when it was raided. ¶6. (SBU) Post Actions: The Regional Security Officer reviewed travel schedules and there were no official Americans in Kulyab. The Consul issued a compatible warden message. The United Nations Security Office advised all Kulyab staff to remain indoors and not to travel throughout the city until authorities resolved the situation. On May 28, the Regional Security Office confirmed with Tajik Government authorities that the situation in the city was resolved and there were no residual security concerns. The Regional Security Office notified the Embassy staff and the Consul has sent a warden message with the current information. United Nations personnel were authorized to resume work in Kulyab Wednesday morning. ¶7. (C) The Ministry of Interior's Militia Detachment for Special Purposes (OMON) was put on standby but was not deployed for this operation. According to a former team member, many OMON operators fought alongside Langari Langariev during the civil war, and this may have led to hesitation by the Ministry to deploy them. ¶8. (C) Comment: There are numerous unanswered questions surrounding this incident. It is possible that the police operation was a pre-emptive strike against an organized crime figure who was becoming more powerful in the President's home Qfigure who was becoming more powerful in the President's home region. Or it may represent a power struggle between Dangharans and Kulyabis. We will continue to monitor developments and assess the circumstances. End comment. JACOBSON