Peacekeepers of the countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) stopped the riots in Kazakhstan. This became known on Tuesday, January 11.
The situation in the country remains extremely difficult, but the appearance of peacekeepers has prevented chaos, which could lead to the worst scenario – a coup d’etat.
The Kazakh authorities have announced that they are in control of the situation, but special operations by security officials are still going on on the streets of Alma-Ata. Groups of armed militants periodically engage in battles with the police and the army. The CSTO peacekeepers, introduced at the request of the president, guard important facilities and keep order.
Within the framework of the CSTO, a joint peacekeeping mission was held for the first time. Before that, there were only teachings. But so far, the most complex operation requiring coordinated actions by the military personnel of six states (Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan) is proceeding smoothly.
The Internet in Nur-Sultan has been restored, but it is still not possible to pay for purchases with a card, people are withdrawing cash en masse, but there are restrictions on withdrawing large amounts from ATMs. Residents also continue to buy food for future use, as a result, many shops are now completely empty, they do not even have bread.
Riots are being investigated throughout the country, but so far the loudest arrest is the arrest of the former head of the National Security Committee, Karim Massimov, who is suspected of treason. Among the high-ranking security officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KNB, who became involved in criminal cases, there was a wave of suicides.
The Kazakh authorities believe that the attack on the country was carefully planned, and for more than one year. So, especially for participation in the riots, foreigners were also recruited.
On January 2, protests began in Kazakhstan due to the rise in prices for liquefied gas. In some cities, rallies escalated into riots. The situation has become especially aggravated in the largest city of the country – Alma-Ata. The protesters, among whom, according to the authorities, were extremists, broke into the administration building, set fire to the prosecutor’s office, the office of the ruling party and seized the presidential residence.
Violators of law and order armed themselves and began to loot, destroying shops, pharmacies and banks in the city. The criminals ransacked the offices of five TV channels, tried to attack the pre-trial detention center and attempted to enter the territory of a military unit in the Aktobe region.
The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, noted that the seized government offices were terrorist groups. He stressed that the bandits who caused the riots had received serious training abroad. The presidential administration of the country specified that among the militants operating in Alma-Ata there were snipers with special rifles.