MOSCOW (TASS): Subdivisions of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the CSTO on Thursday began to perform tasks in the territory of Kazakhstan, the authorities of which had asked the organization for help in connection with the situation in the country the day before.
For the CSTO peacekeepers, this operation was the first in history – before that they were only involved in exercises.
TASS has collected the main information about what is happening in Kazakhstan at the moment.
Peacekeeping operation
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced his appeal to the CSTO for help on Wednesday evening. A few hours later, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who now chairs the Collective Security Council, announced that peacekeepers would be sent to the republic “for a limited time period in order to stabilize and normalize the situation.”
It is not yet known how many troops the CSTO will send to Kazakhstan. In total, the peacekeeping contingents of the organization’s members number about 3.6 thousand people, but the composition of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces in each case is determined based on the specific situation.
It is known that units of the Russian Airborne Forces have been sent to Kazakhstan and the advanced units have already begun to perform their tasks. The intention to provide assistance to the republic was announced in Belarus and Tajikistan.
In Kyrgyzstan, it was reported that the Kyrgyz military will be involved only to protect strategic facilities and “will not be involved in any actions with the participants in the actions.” Their number will be determined on Friday – on Thursday, the country’s parliament, authorized to make appropriate decisions, was unable to collect a quorum.
New decisions of the authorities
Tokayev on Thursday morning ordered the creation of a special investigation group to study the causes of the riots and bring the perpetrators to justice, as well as a commission to assess the damage from the events of recent days.
The security officials were instructed to “carry out measures to increase combat readiness and equipment, maintain the morale of servicemen,” and the regional authorities were instructed to “provide worthy material support” to the families of the killed police officers and military personnel.
Personnel reshuffles also continued – Asset Irgaliev, who previously headed the Ministry of National Economy, was appointed chairman of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms.
Banks and stock exchanges were suspended throughout Kazakhstan on Thursday. As the press secretary of the National Bank Olzhas Ramazanov explained, this is due, among other things, to interruptions in the work of the Internet.
In addition, due to the unrest in the republic, the holidays were extended – now schoolchildren will go to study on January 17, and the second semester for students will begin on the 24th.
Religious events have been temporarily canceled and all churches have been closed in Kazakhstan due to the country’s state of emergency, state television Khabar-24 reported.
Situation in the republic
As a result of the riots in Kazakhstan, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Health, more than 1,000 people were injured, almost 400 required hospitalization.
Later, local media outlets, citing the commandant’s office of Almaty, reported that 13 law enforcement officers had died in clashes in the city, and two of them were found decapitated. In total, according to the commandant’s office, over 350 security officials were injured.
An anti-terrorist operation began in Alma-Ata at night, in the morning a TASS correspondent reported on intense shooting in the square in front of the burnt-out building of the city administration.
Saltanat Azirbek, an official representative of the city police department, said that rioters tried to storm the building of the department and a number of administrative buildings at night. According to her, “dozens of attackers have been eliminated.”
At the moment, there are no reports of major riots in Almaty or other cities. The situation in the capital of the republic, Nur-Sultan, remains calm.
At the same time, the airports of Almaty, Aktobe and Aktau did not open in the morning. Foreign airlines continue to cancel flights to Kazakhstan.
