BISHKEK, April 10 (Reuters) - Police in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan detained dozens of opposition activists on Thursday after they staged a street protest against a proposed border agreement with neighbouring Kazakhstan.

Land delimitation is a thorny issue in the tiny nation where a 2001-2002 border deal with China sparked violent protests. Kyrgyzstan has yet to approve a border agreement with Kazakhstan, its richer and bigger neighbour.

About 50 activists, waving banners and shouting slogans, briefly gathered on a square in the capital to protest against the government plan to cede 3 disputed land plots to Kazakhstan.

"No to the sale of Kyrgyz land!" the protesters shouted. Police quickly detained all of them.

The impoverished nation has been volatile since 2005 when mass riots toppled long-serving leader Askar Akayev and brought President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to power.

The government has been keen to finalise a border delimitation agreement with Kazakhstan ahead of Bakiyev's visit next week to Kazakhstan -- Central Asia's biggest economy and a big investor in Kyrgyzstan. (Reporting by Olga Dzyubenko; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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