In Alma-Ata, there is an intense exchange of fire between armed protesters and the military. Troops arrived on the square in front of the mayor’s office and launched an operation to “clean up” the territory.
As a TASS correspondent reports, earlier dozens of armed people gathered in the square, extremely aggressively disposed, including in relation to journalists. Later, about 300 servicemen in green camouflage and masks, on armored personnel carriers and trucks, arrived here. They surrounded the square along the perimeter, “squeezing” civilians out of the cordon. Shooting then began inside the ring, with the military reportedly firing into the air.
In the morning, Sputnik Kazakhstan reported that the military on armored personnel carriers and armored vehicles “took in the ring” the marauding participants in the riots in the center of Alta-Ata. About 50 pieces of equipment were involved, which surrounded the area along the perimeter. In the center of it there are about 200 instigators of riots. They opened fire on the security forces, intense firefight…
Tonight, the commandant’s office of Alma-Ata announced that an anti-terrorist special operation had begun in the city. Speaking at a meeting of the Security Council, the President of Kazakhstan called the participants in the riots terrorists and said that he had turned to the CSTO partners for help. The CSTO Collective Security Council made a decision to send peacekeepers to Kazakhstan to stabilize the situation.
The TASS correspondent reports today that all the nearest flights from the capital’s airport “Nursultan Nazarbayev” to Almaty canceled… There are armored personnel carriers near the airport building, military personnel in full gear are around. The guards do not let those seeing off into the departure hall, only passengers of the nearest flights can pass. Airport guards tell passengers they don’t know how to get to Almaty.
The whole night in Alma-Ata riots did not subside. Their radical members armed themselves and began to loot. Banks, shops, pharmacies were destroyed. Today, January 6, the CSTO Collective Security Council made a decision to send collective peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan in connection with an appeal by President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, who called the organizers of the pogroms terrorist gangs.
The Kremlin’s website published Pashinyan’s statement on the CSTO’s decision on peacekeepers in Kazakhstan. The official website of the President of the Russian Federation, reports TASS, published a statement by the Chairman of the CSTO Collective Security Council, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, on the decision to send the Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the organization to Kazakhstan:
“In connection with the appeal of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan K. – Zh. K. Tokayev and in view of the threat to national security and the sovereignty of the Republic of Kazakhstan caused, among other things, by outside interference, the CSTO Collective Security Council, in accordance with Article 4 of the Collective Security Treaty, decided to send Collective peacekeeping forces of the CSTO to the Republic of Kazakhstan for a limited period of time in order to stabilize and normalize the situation in this country. “
President Tokayev gave the government a number of urgent orders.
To create a special investigative group consisting of representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KNB and other competent structures to identify the causes of the events, establish and bring to criminal and administrative responsibility all those responsible. The armed forces, the KNB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Guard and other power structures are to take measures to increase combat readiness and equipment, to maintain the morale of servicemen. Akimats of the regions to provide worthy material support to the families of the killed police officers and the Armed Forces. ICRIAP together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan – on the basis of call-center 1414, organize a direct line to provide citizens with information about victims and missing persons as a result of the actions of criminal groups. Create commissions to assess the amount of damage incurred as a result of the riots; to start work on the restoration of administrative buildings, social facilities, residential buildings in Almaty and other regions after stabilization of the situation. Akims – to stabilize the work of utilities, public transport and social infrastructure facilities. Take measures to provide state support to small and medium-sized businesses affected by crime in Almaty and other regions. The National Bank and the ARFR – to ensure the restoration of a stable and uninterrupted operation of second-tier banks and other financial institutions after the situation stabilizes. Take measures to protect diplomatic missions, as well as subjects of foreign investment and business of foreign companies. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan is to ensure the maintenance of permanent ties with foreign states, international organizations and other partners on all current issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
Will there be a revolution in Kazakhstan? DW in Russian:
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