Uzbekistan has sharply reduced travel from Tajikistan through all 16 border crossings with that country but failed to inform Tajik authorities officially of its action, the head of the border control department of the Tajik Border Protection Committee, Boris Sarikaev, told Asia-Plus Blitz on 10 June. The restrictions are ostensibly intended to prevent the spread of SARS, although no cases of the disease have been registered in Tajikistan. According to Sarikaev, the Tajik authorities learned of the restrictions from unofficial sources. He noted that hundreds of Tajik citizens travel to Uzbekistan to work or shop; now they have to walk 2-3 kilometers between the border posts of the two countries and find further transport on the Uzbek side. Uzbek border guards are refusing to allow most Tajik vehicles to enter Uzbekistan. Sarikaev added that the Uzbek guards are also demanding that Tajiks crossing into Uzbekistan produce a new Tajik passport issued in 2003, although not all Tajik citizens have them yet. (Asia-Plus Blitz)