Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) forces will be dispatched to Kazakhstan for a limited period of time and will guard state and military facilities and assist local law enforcement, the secretariat of the organization said on Thursday.
“In accordance with the decision made by the CSTO Collective Security Council on January 6, 2022, Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization were sent to Kazakhstan for a limited period of time to stabilize and normalize the situation,” the CSTO secretariat added. “The main tasks… will be guarding important state and military facilities and rendering assistance to the law enforcement of Kazakhstan in stabilizing the situation and returning it to the legal framework.”
Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Thursday sought help from a Russia-led security alliance of former Soviet states to quell the unrest in his country.
Tokayev sought military support from the six-member Collective Security Treaty Organization, reported NHK World. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who chairs the CSTO, revealed that the organization has decided to send peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan for a limited period.
Protests over soaring fuel prices have been held across Kazakhstan since the beginning of this year.
Meanwhile, a massive protest took place today in the western town of Zhanaozen against the doubling of the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which most Kazakhs use as car fuel, according to the media outlet.
It reported that the price rise came as the country ended a gradual transition to electronic trading for LPG to halt state subsidies for fuel and let the market dictate prices.
Demonstrations have extended to other Kazakh towns and villages – sparking the most geographically widespread protest in the country’s history – and have encompassed wider grievances.
On Wednesday, some demonstrators in the largest city of Almaty stormed government buildings and the presidential residence, reported NHK World.
The Kazakh government declared a state of emergency to try to bring the violence under control.
The country’s Internal Affairs Ministry says eight police and national guard troops have died and more than 300 have been injured, reported NHK World.
President Tokayev said at a pre-dawn security meeting on Thursday that foreign-trained “terrorists” are taking over buildings and infrastructure.
He said Almaty had been attacked, destroyed and vandalized, reported NHK World. Amid nationwide agitation in Kazakhstan, protesters have pulled down the statue of the country’s first President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Al Jazeera has reported.
Meanwhile, India is closely monitoring ongoing developments in Kazakhstan amid protests in the country, said External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday.
“Our embassy in Kazakhstan is closely monitoring ongoing developments there particularly from the perspective of the safety of Indian nationals there”, Bagchi said during the weekly press briefing. Bagchi also stressed assisting Indian citizens in Kazakhstan and said, “We will, of course, assist any Indians in distress. For the moment we are not aware of any such incident or situation.”
