Russia has sent military personnel and equipment to Kazakhstan to help President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev quell the worst uprising in the nation’s 30-year history. The Russian Defence Ministry revealed that it has deployed paratroopers to Almaty as part of a peacekeeping mission after Tokayev sought the help of regional allies.
According to reports, Russian paratroopers arrived in Almaty on Thursday to stymie violent rioting that has so far killed dozens of protesters and almost 20 Kazakh security personnel. Images released by the Russian Defence Ministry showed troops boarding a military transport plane in an airfield near Moscow.
It is not clear if the paratroopers joined forces with Kazakh troops to stop the rioting. However, not long after they arrived, Tokayev announced that order had been restored across the country.
“An anti-terrorist operation has been launched. The forces of law and order are working hard. Constitutional order has largely been restored in all regions of the country,” the President said. Even though he said that “local authorities are in control of the situation,” Tokayev warned that “terrorists are still using weapons and damaging the property” of citizens. “Therefore, counter-terrorist actions should be continued until the militants are completely eliminated,” he added.
The paratroopers were sent as part of a Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) peacekeeping mission after Tokayev appealed to the Russia-led post-Soviet military alliance to help with the crisis. Armenian Prime Minister and current CSTO chairman Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday that the Organization would send peacekeepers to Kazakhstan to stabilise the situation.
Police in the city Almaty said they killed dozens of rioters overnight as fresh violence raged in Kazakhstan. More than 2,000 protesters were detained as Russia rushed in paratroopers to stop a countrywide uprising in the former Soviet state https://t.co/gHDEvrDRGl pic.twitter.com/uY2UpIG5Uc
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 7, 2022
Protests erupted in Almaty, Nur Sultan, and the Mangistau province on January 1 after the government lifted price caps on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), a fuel widely used by Kazakhs to power their vehicles, and doubled LPG prices. The demonstrations quickly boiled over into violent riots, in which protesters ransacked government buildings and offices, including the presidential residence and mayor’s office in Afghanistan.
Kazakh police claimed that protesters torched vehicles and looted shops. Security forces responded by firing stun grenades and tear gas. According to estimates, the violence killed dozens of protests and injured thousands. The Kazakh government resigned following the unprecedented violence and President Tokayev declared a two-week-long state of emergency.
Russia expressed support to Kazakh authorities and called for an end to “street riots and violations of laws.” Moreover, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned against outside interference in Kazakhstan. “We are convinced that our Kazakh friends can independently solve their internal problems,” he said.
The United States (US) said that it is was closely monitoring the situation and the arrival of Russian troops. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Thursday that Washington “will be watching very closely for any violations of human rights and any efforts or actions on the part of foreign forces to seize Kazakh institutions.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted that the US has “questions about the nature” of the Russian mission and added that Washington was not sure if the invitation was legitimate or not. “The world will, of course, be watching for any violation of human rights and actions that may lay the predicate for the seizure of Kazakh institutions,” she added.
Kazakhstan is one of Russia’s closest allies in Central Asia and analysts have noted that the rapid deployment of troops was meant to secure Moscow’s interests in the oil and uranium-producing country.