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FAKHRABAD, Tajikistan — Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan took part in war games on Saturday in the first such exercise since Kyrgyzstan said in February that it would close the last U.S. air base in Central Asia.
About 1,000 soldiers took part in the exercises, 50 kilometers south of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Only Uzbekistan declined to take part, saying its special services were occupied by other preplanned events.
The plot of the war games featured "al-Qaida" members who had crossed over the border from Afghanistan and captured a chemical factory, taking its workers hostage. The soldiers freed the hostages with the help of planes and parachutes.
During the exercises, Tajik soldiers demonstrated their ability to tear apart a live rabbit with their teeth and hands. Another soldier bit off the head of a small snake and ate it.
President Dmitry Medvedev has suggested that the SCO countries should have a stronger say in international efforts to restore peace in Afghanistan. Analysts have said the closure of the Manas base could be interpreted as Moscow's offer to Washington to review the regional rules of the game.
SCO Holds War Games in Tajikistan
20 April 2009
Reuters
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