Anti-government protesters clash with riot police in Aktobe, a city in northwestern Kazakhstan. yunhap newsKazakhstan authorities announced on the 9th (local time) that 164 people, including a four-year-old child, were killed in the worst unrest since independence from the former Soviet Union.
Kazakhstan President Kassim-Jomart Togayev said on Wednesday that order had been restored and the government had regained control of all buildings seized by the protesters, the Associated Press reported.
“The protesters showed no clear leader or organization, but they were instigated by terrorists from foreign backgrounds,” Togaev said.
On that day, sporadic gunfire was heard in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, but it was not confirmed whether it was a warning shot according to law enforcement. President Togaev approved the use of firearms by the military and police to restore order on the 7th.
The Oval Office estimates that more than 5,800 people have been arrested since the protests.
State broadcaster Kabar24, citing the Ministry of Health, said the death toll so far was 164. This is a significant increase compared to previous reports. However, it was not revealed whether the number was counted only by civilians or including the military and police. Kazakhstan authorities announced that 16 military and police officers were killed.
The government put the death toll at 103 in Almaty alone. Civic groups said three minors, including a four-year-old girl, were killed. The Ministry of Home Affairs said more than 2,200 people were injured and receiving treatment, and more than 1,300 police officers were injured.
Anti-government protests in Kazakhstan. yunhap newsMeanwhile, protests that began on the 2nd of last month have spread across the country due to a surge in fuel prices in western Kazakhstan. Dissatisfaction with the authoritarian Kazakhstan government seems to have erupted.
The ‘Group Security Treaty Organization’, a former Soviet military alliance led by Russia, has approved the dispatch of 2,500 Russian troops as peacekeepers at the request of President Tokaev.
U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blincoln said he “really and completely rejects President Togaev’s orders,” adding that “Kazakhstan has the ability to maintain law and order and defend state institutions, but the right to peaceful protest and economic and political concerns. We have to do it in a way that respects the right to express ourselves.”