Russian troops, on Thursday, landed in Kazakhstan to assist the government in regaining control of the country, according to Russian news agencies.
The troops intervened after Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev asked the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for aid against the ravaged protestors who had come to the streets against the rise in fuel price. CSTO is an alliance made up of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
“Peacekeeping forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation were sent to the Republic of Kazakhstan for a limited time to stabilize and normalize the situation,” the CSTO secretariat said in a statement shared on the internet by Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman.
The statement did not specify the number of troops being sent to the Central Asian country but said the Russian contingent included members of the country’s paratroopers.
The stakes are especially high for Russia, acting leader of the alliance, as its presence risks disaffecting a Kazakhstani public that is demanding a change in the regime but has yet to show any anti-Russian sentiment.
The Protest:
Thousands of citizens took to the streets in Almaty and in the western province of Mangystau against petrol hikes. Kazakhstan’s Internet was blacked out Thursday, with national banking services reportedly suspended.
According to Almaty city authorities, 353 police and security forces personnel had been injured, and 12 killed in clashes with the protestors on Thursday.
A spokesperson of Almaty Police Department told local media that “extremist forces” tried to storm many government structures, including the police department. Video from Russia’s news agency displayed an armed security force engaged in a shootout near the main square of Almaty.
With protests escalating, the government on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in protest-hit areas which would extend nationwide and in effect until January 19.
The European Union and the United Nations called for “restraint” on all sides, while Washington urged authorities to allow protesters to “express themselves peacefully.”