After days of unrest: Kazakhstan has a new head of government

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The city's administrative center in Almaty is still marked by the unrest

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PAVEL MIKHEYEV / REUTERS

Severe riots rocked the ex-Soviet republic of Kazakhstan for days.

President Kassym-Shomart Tokayev recently declared the unrest to be over.

On Tuesday the parliament approved Tokayev's proposal for a new head of government.

The deputies of the Central Asian country voted for Alichan Smajilow, who already held the post temporarily after the dismissal of the old government a good week ago, as the state television reported.

In the oil- and gas-rich country, which borders Russia among others, displeasure about the rise in fuel prices had turned into protests against the government.

In addition to peaceful demonstrations, there were also violent riots, especially in the metropolis of Almaty.

According to state television, at least 164 people died and thousands were injured in the violent clashes.

Soldiers from neighboring countries should leave Kazakhstan quickly

Tokayev had asked a Russian-led military alliance for support in the face of the unrest.

According to the President, the first soldiers of this alliance are to leave Kazakhstan this week.

In two days, the withdrawal should begin gradually, said the head of state in a speech in parliament.

"The main mission of the OKVS troops has been completed."

The member states of the Organization of the Collective Security Treaty (CSTO) only discussed the situation in the ex-Soviet republic on Monday.

Tokayev said: "Complete order has been restored in Kazakhstan." He described the unrest as "an attempt at a coup".

According to Tokayev, the CSTO sent soldiers to Kazakhstan in 2030 to protect airports, weapons depots and other strategic objects.

By far the largest number of troops has been provided by Russia.

Small contingents come from Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Meanwhile, the number of arrests approached 10,000.

According to the Tengrinews agency, the Ministry of the Interior said that around 9,900 people were detained during the riots.

Experts believe that the president will also use the crisis to overthrow his predecessor, the ex-long-term president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Even after his resignation in 2019, Nazarbayev was still considered the most powerful man in Kazakhstan.

Tokayev recently removed his post as head of the influential Security Council and dismissed several of his confidants from important offices.

svs / dpa / Reuters / AFP