Number of People Detained in Kazakh City of Shymkent Amid Unrest Tops 3,500 - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The number of people detained in the Kazakh city of Shymkent in connection with the unrest has topped 3,500, regional TV channel Otyrar.kz reported, citing the head of the city's commandant's office, Yeraly Zhumakhanbetov.

Earlier, local authorities reported the detention of 2,700 people, and noted that 45 policemen were injured during riots in the city.

"The situation in the city of Shymkent is stable. Since the start of unrest, 3,520 citizens have been brought to police stations. To date, 366 citizens have been held administratively accountable. Decisions on arrest have been made against 271 of them, 40 have been fined and 55 warnings have been issued," Zhumakhanbetov said.

Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the early days of 2022 - residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the west of the country opposed a twofold increase in prices for liquefied gas. Later, protests spread to other cities, including Almaty, the republic's largest city: looting began there, militants attacked state institutions and took weapons.

In response, the authorities declared a state of emergency across the country until January 19 and launched a counter-terrorism operation. According to the UN, about 1,000 people were injured during protests in Kazakhstan. According to the republic's Interior Ministry, 18 Kazakh security officials were killed, more than 1,300 were injured.

In the morning of January 5, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismissed the government and led the country's Security Council. At the first meeting of the Security Council under his leadership, Tokayev described the situation in Kazakhstan as one undermining the integrity of the state and said he had asked the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for assistance "in overcoming the terrorist threat."

The CSTO Collective Security Council decided to deploy the Collective Peacekeeping Forces to Kazakhstan to normalize the situation there. On January 7, Tokayev said terrorists, including those who arrived from abroad, continued to resist, and vowed to eliminate those who did not lay down their arms. In addition, the president noted that all the demands of citizens, expressed in peaceful forms, were heard.