In the Kazakhstan protests, 164 were gunned down including 3 children in the crackdown on rallies against the government.
What Led to the Bloody Crackdown?
The Kazakhstan protests started on 2 January and grew to express vexation at the government, triggered by a rise in fuel prices, which turned into huge riots as they spread across the country, expressing also their dissatisfaction with the former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who led Kazakhstan for three decades and is still thought to retain significant influence.
The government in turn ended up killing them. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev issued shoot-to-kill orders to end the unrest, branding protesters “terrorists and bandits”. There were about 164, including three children that have been killed in the Kazakhstan protests during fierce anti-government protests, according to media reports citing health officials.
Almost 6,000 people have been arrested, including “a substantial number of foreign nationals”, Kazakhstan’s presidential office said on Sunday.
Last week, troops from countries including Russia were sent to Kazakhstan to help restore order.
The country’s health ministry has said that the majority of the deaths occurred in Almaty, scene to the worst clashes the former Soviet state has seen in three decades
Thousands of people have been detained and public buildings torched during mass anti-government protests in the past week.
Demonstrations against a fuel price hike began a week ago – before erupting into a wider protest against Tokayev’s government and the man he replaced, 81-year-old Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The nation has witnessed its worst violence in three decades this week and on Wednesday this erupted in full-blown violence, with government buildings stormed and protesters seizing control of the city’s airport.
The under-fire president called in the support of Russian-led troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).
Vladimir Putin Sends Russian Troops
The Kremlin said Vladimir Putin will attend a meeting tomorrow about the unfolding crisis in Kazakhstan.
Officials said a ‘counterterrorism operation’ is ongoing. This will continue, he said, “until the terrorists are completely eliminated and the constitutional order is restored in the Republic of Kazakhstan”.
It has led to a purge of security services, with former intelligence chief Karim Massimov arrested on suspicion of treason as protests swept through the country, which borders Russia and China.
Tokayev’s spokesman said on Sunday he thought the Russian-led troops would not be in Kazakhstan for long, and possibly no more than a week or even less.
The president has awarded prizes for bravery to 16 police and army officers killed in the violence.
Police said 6,044 people had been arrested in connection with the unrest.
The presidential statement added that the situation had stabilized, with troops continuing “cleanup” operations and guarding “strategic facilities”.
About Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is a Central Asian country and the former Soviet republic that extends from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Altai Mountains at its eastern border with China and Russia. Its largest metropolis, Almaty, is a long-standing trading hub whose landmarks include Ascension Cathedral, a tsarist-era Russian Orthodox church, and the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan, displaying thousands of Kazakh artifacts.
It functions as a presidential republic, where the President of Kazakhstan is head of state and nominates the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament.
You might also want to read https://hamslivenews.com/2022/01/09/din-e-ilahi-and-emperor-akbars-religious-unity-bid/