The Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan reported this Sunday (9) that the death toll amid the crisis that unfolds in the country reaches 164 and that two of the victims are children.
The update represents a leap from figures released during the week, when it was announced that 26 protesters and 18 police officers had died. Most of the deaths occurred in Almati, the country’s largest city with around 1.7 million inhabitants.
The number of people detained by security forces also increased. At least 5,135 citizens were arrested as part of 125 investigations, according to information from the Kazakh Interior Ministry.
The government of President Kassim-Jomart Tokayev claimed to have stabilized the situation and added that troops from the Moscow-led military alliance of ex-Soviet countries were protecting the country’s strategic energy facilities – Kazakhstan is a major producer of oil and gas.
“The situation has stabilized in all regions of the country,” reads a statement released on Sunday. Kazakh intelligence officials say they are still carrying out “clean-up” actions in what they call a counterterrorism operation. During the project’s spark, Tokayev had ordered them to shoot “to kill”.
During the traditional Sunday Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, Pope Francis called for dialogue and justice to end the crisis in the Central Asian country, adding that he was saddened by the news about the deaths that had taken place.
“I learned with sadness that there were victims during the protests,” the pontiff said. “I pray for them and their families and hope that social harmony will be restored as soon as possible.”​
The wave of protests in Kazakhstan began on January 2 and intensified last Wednesday (5), when protesters attacked public buildings and protested in the country’s main cities, including Almati and the capital, Nursultan. The official residence of the autocrat Tokayev was invaded and later vacated.
The initial complaint on the streets was against the price of fuel, but the wave of protests got out of control. There is no word yet on who its leaders are, which adds to conspiratorial speculation that the upheaval was driven by foreign agents, including the government of Vladimir Putin.
The Kazakh government announced on Saturday the arrest of the country’s former head of intelligence, Karim Masimov, who was also prime minister for two terms in the last two decades and was a key ally of dictator Nursultan Nazarbaiev, known as the “Kazakh”. father of the nation”, who ruled the country for nearly 30 years. He is accused of treason.
Russian state-owned airline Aeroflot has announced that it has stopped selling tickets for flights to Kazakhstan scheduled for before January 20 and also for flights from Kazakhstan to Russia until the 21st, according to information from the Tass news agency.
Kazakh Interior Minister Yerlan Turgumbayev told Khabar 24 news channel that during the protests, more than 400 vehicles were damaged or destroyed, including 346 police vehicles. Protesters also allegedly looted more than 100 banks and business premises, he said.
President Tokayev declared the coming Monday (10) as a day of national mourning, “in memory of the many victims that resulted from tragic winds in various regions of the country”.
The autocratic leader replaced dictator Nursultan, the longest-serving ruler of any former Soviet republic, as president of Kazakhstan in 2019. The son of prominent intellectuals in the country, he studied in Moscow at a top academy for diplomats and worked at the Soviet embassy in Beijing. He also served as Nursultan’s chief adviser until he became his political heir.
.
