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Russia-Led Troops Sent to Kazakhstan as 'Dozens' Killed in Unrest
By Christopher Rickleton and Michael Mainville for AFP
Jan. 6, 2022
Officials said more than 1,000 people had been wounded so far in the unrest. Valery Sharifulin/TASS
A Moscow-led military alliance dispatched troops to help quell mounting unrest in Kazakhstan on Thursday as police said dozens were killed trying to storm government buildings.
Long seen as one the most stable of the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, energy-rich Kazakhstan is facing its biggest crisis in decades after days of protests over rising fuel prices escalated into widespread unrest.
Under increasing pressure, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appealed overnight to the Russia-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), which includes five other ex-Soviet states, to combat what he called "terrorist groups" that had "received extensive training abroad".
Within hours the alliance said the first troops had been sent, including Russian paratroopers and military units from the other CSTO members.
"Peacekeeping forces... were sent to the Republic of Kazakhstan for a limited time to stabilise and normalise the situation," the CSTO said in a statement, without specifying the number of troops involved.
The CSTO's current chairman, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, earlier announced the alliance would agree to the request, saying Kazakhstan was facing "outside interference".
In the worst reported violence so far, police said dozens of people were killed in battles with security forces at government buildings in the country's largest city Almaty.
"Last night, extremist forces tried to assault administrative buildings, the Almaty city police department, as well as local police commissariats. Dozens of assailants were eliminated," police spokesman Saltanat Azirbek was quoted as saying by the Interfax-Kazakhstan, TASS and Ria Novosti news agencies.
More than 1,000 wounded
Tokayev said in a televised address early Thursday that "terrorists" were seizing buildings, infrastructure and small arms, and battling security forces.
Videos on social media on Thursday showed pillaged shops and burned buildings in Almaty, automatic gunfire in the streets and residents screaming in fear.
Officials said more than 1,000 people had been wounded so far in the unrest, with nearly 400 hospitalised and 62 in intensive care.
Protests spread across the nation of 19 million this week in outrage over a New Year increase in prices for liquid petroleum gas (LPG), which is widely used to fuel cars in the west of the country.
Thousands took to the streets in Almaty and in the western province of Mangystau, saying the price rise was unfair given oil and gas exporter Kazakhstan's vast energy reserves.
Protesters were reported to have stormed several government buildings on Wednesday, including the Almaty mayor's office and the presidential residence.
As of late Wednesday, at least eight law enforcement officers had been killed and 317 wounded in the violence, according to the interior ministry quoted by local media.
The full picture of the chaos was unclear, with widespread disruptions to communications including mobile phone signals, the blocking of online messengers and hours-long internet shutdowns.
The protests are the biggest threat so far to the regime established by Kazakhstan's founding president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stepped down in 2019 and hand-picked Tokayev as his successor.
Tokayev tried to head off further unrest by announcing the resignation of the government headed by Prime Minister Askar Mamin early on Wednesday, but protests continued.
www.themoscowtimes.com
By Christopher Rickleton and Michael Mainville for AFP
Jan. 6, 2022
Officials said more than 1,000 people had been wounded so far in the unrest. Valery Sharifulin/TASS
A Moscow-led military alliance dispatched troops to help quell mounting unrest in Kazakhstan on Thursday as police said dozens were killed trying to storm government buildings.
Long seen as one the most stable of the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, energy-rich Kazakhstan is facing its biggest crisis in decades after days of protests over rising fuel prices escalated into widespread unrest.
Under increasing pressure, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appealed overnight to the Russia-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), which includes five other ex-Soviet states, to combat what he called "terrorist groups" that had "received extensive training abroad".
Within hours the alliance said the first troops had been sent, including Russian paratroopers and military units from the other CSTO members.
"Peacekeeping forces... were sent to the Republic of Kazakhstan for a limited time to stabilise and normalise the situation," the CSTO said in a statement, without specifying the number of troops involved.
The CSTO's current chairman, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, earlier announced the alliance would agree to the request, saying Kazakhstan was facing "outside interference".
In the worst reported violence so far, police said dozens of people were killed in battles with security forces at government buildings in the country's largest city Almaty.
"Last night, extremist forces tried to assault administrative buildings, the Almaty city police department, as well as local police commissariats. Dozens of assailants were eliminated," police spokesman Saltanat Azirbek was quoted as saying by the Interfax-Kazakhstan, TASS and Ria Novosti news agencies.
More than 1,000 wounded
Tokayev said in a televised address early Thursday that "terrorists" were seizing buildings, infrastructure and small arms, and battling security forces.
Videos on social media on Thursday showed pillaged shops and burned buildings in Almaty, automatic gunfire in the streets and residents screaming in fear.
Officials said more than 1,000 people had been wounded so far in the unrest, with nearly 400 hospitalised and 62 in intensive care.
Protests spread across the nation of 19 million this week in outrage over a New Year increase in prices for liquid petroleum gas (LPG), which is widely used to fuel cars in the west of the country.
Thousands took to the streets in Almaty and in the western province of Mangystau, saying the price rise was unfair given oil and gas exporter Kazakhstan's vast energy reserves.
Protesters were reported to have stormed several government buildings on Wednesday, including the Almaty mayor's office and the presidential residence.
As of late Wednesday, at least eight law enforcement officers had been killed and 317 wounded in the violence, according to the interior ministry quoted by local media.
The full picture of the chaos was unclear, with widespread disruptions to communications including mobile phone signals, the blocking of online messengers and hours-long internet shutdowns.
The protests are the biggest threat so far to the regime established by Kazakhstan's founding president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stepped down in 2019 and hand-picked Tokayev as his successor.
Tokayev tried to head off further unrest by announcing the resignation of the government headed by Prime Minister Askar Mamin early on Wednesday, but protests continued.
Gunfire in Largest Kazakh City, Moscow-Led Troops Arrive - The Moscow Times
Bursts of gunfire echoed through the streets of Kazakhstan's largest city on Thursday as Moscow-led troops arrived to help quell mass unrest that left dozens dead and hundreds detained.
