Moscow: Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Friday that he should give the security forces the right to fire and kill “terrorists”. Have given.
This step has been asked to take after very violent demonstrations going on in the country for the last several days. In a televised address to the nation, the president blamed “terrorists” and “militants” for causing the unrest. During this, he said that law enforcing agencies have been given powers to shoot “terrorists”. Tokayev said – those who do not surrender, they will be killed. He called calls for talks with the protesters by some other countries as “nonsense”. Tokayev said, “What can be done with the criminals, the killers?”
During the address, the President announced that the constitutional order in the country has mainly been restored and the local administration has brought the situation under control. The president said, “Terrorists are still using weapons and damaging people’s property. Anti-terrorist action against them should be continued.”
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Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said 26 demonstrators were killed, 18 were injured and more than 3,000 people were detained during the riots. During this, 18 security officers were also killed and around 700 were injured.
Massive street protests are taking place in Kazakhstan, the first since independence nearly three decades ago. The protest, which began against the nearly doubling of the prices of a particular variety of vehicle fuel, spread across the country and reflects widespread dissatisfaction with the same-party rule since independence.
The protests have turned violent, with government buildings set on fire and more than a dozen officers killed. Clashes are also reported in Almaty on Friday morning. A building in Almaty was set on fire, according to the Russian news agency Tass. However, the security forces have freed the Almaty airport from the possession of the protesters.