DUSHANBE, May 5, 2015, Asia-Plus – Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reports that seventeen civilian support staff at a Russian military base in southern Tajikistan say they have been fired after protesting about unpaid wages.

Said Zubaidov, an employee at Russia''s 201st base in Kulob, told RFE/RL''s Tajik Service that the workers were fired on May 5.

Zubaidov and other local employees have not received salaries for at least six months.

There was no immediate comment from base officials or the third-party firm responsible for hiring support staff, Bit Service-Plus.

Bit Service Plus recently confirmed that the Russian base had not made the relevant payments.

About 30 civilian workers protested in front of the base on April 15.

Some 7,000 Russian troops are stationed in Tajikistan under the jurisdiction of the 201st base, which is Russia''s largest non-naval military facility outside of the country. 

Nearly 200 local civilians work for the base in three separate locations -- Kulob, Qurghon Teppa, and Dushanbe.