The State Border Service (SBS) (
Turkmen: Döwlet Serhet Gullugy, DSG) also commonly known by its paramilitary force as the Turkmen Border Troops (Türkmenistan Serhet Garawul) is a
border guard agency of the
Armed Forces of Turkmenistan. It is currently a public service department of the government of the country and is under the command of the
Ministry for National Security of Turkmenistan.
History
The service was established on 11 August 1992, by order of President
Saparmyrat Nyýazow, on the basis of the
Soviet Border Troops in the
Turkestan Military District.[3] Until 1997, the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan included the Border Troops of the
Ministry of Defense, which were then transformed into the State Border Service. It cooperated with
Russian border guards who remained in country until 1999 as a result of a joint Russian–Turkmen agreement on the protection of the state border of
Turkmenistan, which was signed in 1993. It slowly evolved to meet the standards of its counterparts, with the DSG being allowed to inspect goods and other items transported across the border of
Turkmenistan in April 1998. At the end of 2001, 3 new border detachments were created, with 2 (in
Kushka and
Köýtendag), being intensified the cover of the Afghan border to prevent
Taliban fighters from taking refuge in the country during the
War in Afghanistan. Recently, the service created a separate naval border patrol division stationed in
Türkmenbaşy.[4] In 2014, there were several incidents for the service along the
Afghanistan–Turkmenistan border, including one in February when Turkmen border guards killed a militant who crossed the border illegally and in retaliation three Turkmen border guards were killed later that month. Later that May, three Turkmen guards were killed by an armed group crossing the border from
Ghormach District, Afghanistan.[5][6]
Responsibilities
The main tasks of the service include the following:
The Breastplate "Valiant Border Guard" is the state medal designed to honour members of the DSG. It consists of medals in both the first and second degrees. It has the shape of a regular green octagon, which is one of the main elements of the State
Emblem of Turkmenistan, inscribed in an circle with a diameter of 40 mm. It was created on 20 December 2005.[12]
^"Государственные награды". Официальный сайт посольства Туркменистана на Украине. Archived from
the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.