Unprecedented protests have led to the de-facto resignation of one of the longest serving rulers of a former Soviet Republic. The president of Kazakhstan sacked his entire government and imposed a state of emergency across several regions on Wednesday in an attempt to curb the protests that have engulfed the country. But it was his predecessor, a former president who still held huge influence over the running of the country, whose resignation on Wednesday most clearly illustrated the gravity of the unrest.
As many as 190 people were injured during the clashes in Kazakhstan's largest city of Almaty, its public health department said on Wednesday.
Amid the chaos, the U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan said the American Consulate in Almaty would remain closed on Thursday, at least, with staff working remotely. In a statement posted online, the embassy urged Americans in the country to avoid areas where the demonstrations were playing out, and offered out-of-hours numbers for U.S. nationals to call for both the embassy and the consulate.
Kazakhstan, a Central Asian nation of about 19 million people, is tightly controlled by its authoritarian government. The regime tolerates little opposition and has sought to quash dissent. Spontaneous demonstrations are illegal.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
(CNN)Dozens of protesters were killed and hundreds injured during clashes in Kazakhstan, a police official from the largest city Almaty said Thursday, as troops from a Russian-led military alliance of post-Soviet states begin their operations in the Central Asian country to help quell the unrest.
At least 13 law enforcement officials died in Almaty and 353 people were injured, state-run Khabar 24 TV reported.
More than 1,000 people in different regions were injured as a result of the turmoil. Of these, almost 400 were hospitalized, with 62 people in intensive care, the Ministry of Health said, according to Khabar 24.
The violence continued on Thursday with security forces reportedly firing on protesters and explosions being heard close to Republic Square in Almaty, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
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Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said he had given shoot-to-kill orders to deal with further disturbances from ‘bandits and terrorists,’ adding that those who failed to surrender would be ‘destroyed’ https://reut.rs/32UGmzS
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
