The authorities of Kazakhstan have confirmed this Thursday the death of “dozens” of people who tried to break into several administrative buildings in the city of Almaty on Wednesday night in the framework of protests in recent days over rising prices for liquefied gas.
Almaty Police spokeswoman Saltanat Azirbek has indicated that “Extremist forces tried to break into administrative buildings”, among them the headquarters of the Police. “Dozens of attackers have been eliminated, their identities are being determined,” he added.
He has also said that there is an anti-terrorist operation in this area of the city and has asked residents to “avoid leaving their homes, for their own safety,” according to the Russian news agency TASS. The city police have stressed in a statement that the objective is to “establish order.”
Thus, the local Police has said that “Radical supporters of the riots have caused enormous damage to the city and they have resisted the legitimate actions of the security agencies to establish order and guarantee security. ”
“Extremists are looting and damaging businesses,” he said., while emphasizing that “they endanger the life and health of civilians, obstructing the work of medical workers and causing damage to clinics and hospitals.”
“The bandits who are acting in Almaty are highly organized, which shows that they were trained in a serious way abroad,” reported the Police, who denounced that “its attack on Kazakhstan is an act of aggression and an attempt to alter the integrity of the state“.
Hours before, the The Ministry of the Interior had confirmed the death of eight of the uniformed, between police and soldiers of the National Guard, after the Kazakh President, Kasim Jomart Tokayev, addressed the nation to reaffirm that he will act “with the greatest harshness possible” against those responsible for the disturbances, as well as with all those who have participated in them.
“Half of the territory of our country is involved in riots. The situation is especially difficult in Almaty (…) and this cannot be tolerated, “he said, before pointing out for the first time since the start of the demonstrations the existence of” several deaths and injuries. ”
The city of Almaty is for now the main scene of the demonstrations, which have also spread to large cities such as Nursultán, the capital, and Mangistau, that is why President Tokayev has decreed a state of emergency in several regions and a curfew between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. (local time).
Faced with this situation, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) – a military alliance made up of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – has announced that it will send troops to Kazakh territory, in response to the president’s request. .
“In connection with the request of the President of Kazakhstan and in view of the threat to national security and sovereignty of Kazakhstan caused, among other things, by external interference, the CSTO Collective Security Council (…) decided send the Collective Peacekeeping Forces to Kazakhstan “, highlighted the Prime Minister of Armenia and President of the Council, Nikol Pashinián.
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