Kazakhstan blames foreign-trained Islamic radicals for unrest as nearly 8,000 people detained

The unrest erupted last week after protests against fuel price increases turned violent, with dozens of people believed to have been killed

Authorities on Monday for the first time linked the violence to what they said were members of Islamist groups

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Kazakh policemen seen in Almaty during protests on January 5. Photo: EPA

Published: 4:17pm, 10 Jan 2022Updated: 4:31pm, 10 Jan 2022

Kazakhstan said on Monday that foreign-trained Islamist radicals were among those who had attacked government buildings and security forces last week and that police had now detained almost 8,000 people to bring the situation under control.

Government buildings in several cities were briefly captured or torched last week as initially peaceful protests against fuel price increases became violent in the worst bout of violence in the Central Asian nation’s post-Soviet history.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sacked his cabinet, issued shoot-to-kill orders and declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich nation of 19 million. He also asked a Russian-led military bloc to send in troops, who the government says have since been deployed to guard strategic objects.

Burnt-out military vehicles are seen on the street in Almaty on January 6. Photo: EPA

Tokayev was set to take part in a video conference of the bloc’s leaders on Monday.

Authorities on Monday for the first time linked the violence to what they said were members of Islamist groups.

“As the events in Almaty and several other regions of the country have shown, Kazakhstan has been subjected to armed aggression by well-coordinated terrorist groups trained abroad,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

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