As Thailand‑Cambodia skirmishes and the Israel‑Gaza war rage, a third front may be quietly forming in Central Asia. On December 24, Tajik border guards clashed with armed intruders from Afghanistan in Shamsiddin Shohin, leaving two Tajik officers dead and several wounded, while three alleged terrorists were “neutralised” and M‑16s, a Kalashnikov, grenades and night‑vision gear seized. Reports say this was the third assault in a month, following cross‑border attacks that killed Chinese workers, even as Tajikistan opens new border posts and a tank range. Is the Afghan‑Tajik frontier sliding into a new undeclared war?