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RFERL, July 20, 2016

Turkmen officials have closed the border with Kazakhstan for five days in line with increased security measures.

"Turkmenistan has bolstered border security, which is why access of foreign citizens arriving in the republic...has been suspended for five days," said a statement by officials from Kazakhstan's western Mangistau region.

It added that the two countries have agreed that Kazakh citizens who live in the Mangistau region could visit nearby Turkmen regions visa-free for up to five days.

Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan share a 413-kilometer-long border.

It is unclear if the closure by Ashgabat is related to a pair of deadly attacks on police stations in Kazakhstan that officials have blamed on radical Muslims.