Published:
6 one 2022 07:18 GMT
Kazakhstan has asked its partners in the bloc, consisting of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, for help in dealing with the massive protests in the country.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has announced this Thursday the dispatch of peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan, which requested military assistance from the bloc amid violent anti-government protests to stabilize the situation in the country.
The Kazakh President, Kasim-Yomart Tokáev, denounced before the military bloc, of which his country is a part along with Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, that the riots represent a threat to the national security and sovereignty of Kazakhstan and that he perceives the events as the result of an invasion of criminal groups prepared abroad.
The alliance agreed to send its peacekeeping forces for a limited period, which will be tasked with protecting important government and military installations and will assist Kazakh forces in their effort to normalize the situation. The peace contingent includes Russian units of the Airborne Troops.
The protests erupted on January 2 as a result of the drastic rise in the prices of liquefied petroleum gas, used in the region as fuel in most cars, and have led to riots and clashes with police officers.
The moments of greatest tension are lived in the old capital of the country, Almaty, where an enraged mob assault this Wednesday the Administration building and the former presidential residence, causing fires in the headquarters of the regional government and in the buildings of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Qazaqstan state channel.
The protesters also seized control of the Almaty International Airport, where they wrecked the terminal and the Duty Free shop. Aktau, Aktobé and Almaty airports were closed.
The Kazakh army has taken up positions in the center of Almaty, where dozens of protesters were killed on the night of January 5-6, according to police counts. An “antiterrorist operation” is currently underway in the city.
Authorities continue to block internet access throughout the country, where the state of emergency with a curfew from Wednesday, being prohibited all mass events and limiting freedom of movement throughout the national territory and between the different regions.