The anti-terrorist operation continues in the largest Kazakh metropolis, Alma-Ata. Residents of the city help the police to identify suspicious groups of people. As of the morning of January 8, the number of detained protesters exceeds 4,400 people, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan reports. Foreign citizens are also among the detainees.
The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, informed that "there were at least six waves of terrorist attacks in Alma-Ata" with a total number of 20,000 participants.
At the moment, the transfer of Russian peacekeepers to Kazakhstan continues, the Russian Ministry of Defense reports.
"Airborne troops from the Russian contingent of the CSTO peacekeeping forces are at the loading airfields of Chkalovsky, Ivanovo-Severny and Ulyanovsk-Vostochny," the message of the department reads.
On Saturday, Vladimir Putin and Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev again discussed the situation in Kazakhstan, the Kremlin reports. Tokayev thanked Putin for his support through the Collective Security Treaty Organization and offered to hold an online CSTO summit. Putin supported the initiative.
On January 2, mass actions and clashes began in Kazakhstan due to the doubling of gas prices. The protests, which began in the Mangistau region, quickly expanded, the protesters laid down political demands. Later, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, announced a state of emergency in several regions, and on January 5, he accepted the resignation of the government.
To maintain stability, the CSTO member states sent peacekeeping contingents to the country. However, the clashes between the protesters and the security forces continue. There are thousands of injured and dozens of dead.
