Nearly 8,000 detained in Kazakhstan amid unrest

MOSCOW – The authorities successful Kazakhstan said Monday that astir 8,000 radical were detained by constabulary during protests that descended into unit past week and marked the worst unrest the erstwhile Soviet federation has faced since gaining independency 30 years ago.

Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry reported that a full of 7,939 radical person been detained crossed the country. The National Security Committee, Kazakhstan’s counterintelligence and anti-terrorism agency, said Monday that the concern successful the state has “stabilized and is nether control.”

The authorities person declared Monday a time of mourning for dozens of victims of the unprecedentedly convulsive unrest. The country’s Health Ministry said Sunday that 164 people, including 3 children, were killed successful the unrest.

The demonstrations began connected Jan. 2 implicit a near-doubling of prices for a benignant of conveyance substance and rapidly dispersed crossed the country, seemingly reflecting wider discontent with the authoritarian government.

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In a concession, the authorities announced a 180-day terms headdress connected conveyance substance and a moratorium connected inferior complaint increases. As the unrest mounted, the ministerial furniture resigned and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev replaced Nursultan Nazarbayev, erstwhile longtime person of Kazakhstan, arsenic caput of the National Security Council.

One of the main slogans of the past week's protests, “Old antheral out,” was a notation to Nazarbayev, who served arsenic president from Kazakhstan’s independency until helium resigned successful 2019 and anointed Tokayev arsenic his successor. Nazarbayev had retained important powerfulness astatine the helm of the National Security Council.

Despite the concessions, the protests turned highly convulsive for respective days, with authorities buildings acceptable ablaze and dozens of radical killed. In Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, the protesters stormed and concisely seized the airport. For respective days, sporadic gunfire was reported successful the metropolis streets.

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The authorities declared a authorities of exigency implicit the unrest, and Tokayev requested assistance from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Russia-led subject confederation of six erstwhile Soviet states. The radical has authorized sending astir 2,500 mostly Russian troops to Kazakhstan arsenic peacekeepers.

Tokayev has said the demonstrations were instigated by “terrorists” with overseas backing, though the protests person shown nary evident leaders oregon organization. On Friday, helium said helium ordered constabulary and the subject to sprout to termination “terrorists” progressive successful the violence.

In a connection connected Monday morning, Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said that peaceful protests passim the state “were hijacked by terrorist, extremist and transgression groups.”

“According to preliminary data, the attackers see individuals who person subject combat portion acquisition successful the ranks of extremist Islamist groups. Currently, the instrumentality enforcement agencies and equipped forces of Kazakhstan are confronting terrorists, not ‘peaceful protesters' arsenic immoderate overseas media misrepresent it,” the connection said.

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The National Security Committee said Monday that “hotspots of violent threats” successful the state person been “neutralized.”

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