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Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan amid escalating violence in popular protests

2022-01-06T19:25:46.337Z


The most serious revolt in the history of this former Soviet republic provokes the first military intervention by a coalition of countries allied to Putin.


Russia on Thursday sent military troops to Kazakhstan, a republic located in Central Asia rich with gigantic reserves of oil, natural gas and uranium, in the face of the escalation of violence from popular protests, which have left at least 12 police officers dead and an indefinite number of Deceased protesters.

The revolt against the Kasim-Yomart Tokaev regime began in protest at the increase in the price of a type of vehicle fuel.

But the virulence, volume and rapid spread of the demonstrations reflect the dissatisfaction of the citizens with the direction of the country, governed by the same formation since it achieved independence when the Soviet Union fell more than three decades ago.

A group of policemen advance en bloc toward protesters in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on January 5, 2022.Vladimir Tretyakov / AP

Authorities said Thursday that dozens of protesters have been killed, in addition to

at least 12 police officers, and 2,000 people were arrested

Wednesday night in Almaty, the country's main city, where they stormed the presidential residence and the mayor's office.

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Kazakhstan appealed to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led coalition of former Soviet republics, which has sent troops.

The building that houses the mayor's office of Almaty, the most important city in Kazakhstan, on fire during protests on January 5, 2022. Yan Blagov / AP

This is the first military intervention of this alliance, also formed by Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which increases the risk that protests will catch on in other republics.

Russia and Kazakhstan share close bilateral relations and a border of more than 4,200 miles (one 7,600 kilometers), much of it along open steppes.

The Russian Government has its Baikonur space base on Kazakh territory

.

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Although no leading figure has emerged to lead the protests (the regime has always been in charge of silencing dissident voices), Russia claims that these

"have been inspired from abroad through armed formations that have been trained"

, mainly "gangs of Middle East and Middle East, especially Afghanistan, "according to the newspaper El País.

In an attempt to quell the anger of the protesters, Kazakhstan announced Thursday that it will limit the increase in fuel prices for a period of 180 days, and will pass a moratorium on the increase in utility rates.

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Kasim-Yomart Tokaev has hesitated in recent hours to accept the resignation of his government or adopt tougher measures to quell the unrest, which he blamed on "terrorist gangs".

The United States has expressed concern about the escalation of violence in the former Soviet republic, and has conveyed its "support for the constitutional institutions of Kazakhstan and freedom of the media", calling for

"a peaceful resolution

. "

With information from

The Associated Press

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2022-01-06

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