Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Monday that his country had survived a coup attempt orchestrated by what he called a “lonely group” following the most violent unrest since the collapse of the Soviet Union, while Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced “global terrorism” that targeted the Central Asian country..
In a speech to a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization led by Russia via a video link, Tokayev said that order has been restored in Kazakhstan, but the pursuit of “terrorists” continues..
He added that the large-scale “anti-terrorist” operation would soon end, along with the mission of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which he said includes 2,030 soldiers and 250 pieces of military equipment..
He said that Kazakhstan will provide evidence to the international community of what happened very soon.
He added that 16 members of the security forces had been killed and that the number of civilians who had died in the violence was still being investigated.
For its part, the Interior Ministry of Kazakhstan announced that security forces had arrested a total of 7,939 people as of January 10 during the unrest that occurred last week..
Local government buildings were briefly seized or torched in several major cities last week, as initially peaceful protests once morest rising fuel prices turned violent..
On Monday, the Internet returned to Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, following a 5-day break that coincided with bloody confrontations that left dozens dead, while the Interior Ministry announced that the security forces had arrested a total of 7,939 people as of January 10..
Local and foreign websites were once more available to browse on Monday, which was declared a day of mourning in the wake of the unrest.
Kazakhstan presented the violence in Almaty as an attack by “terrorist groups” and expressed its dissatisfaction with foreign media coverage of the events, which began with demonstrations once morest the hike in fuel prices in the west of the country on January 2.
