Iran Press/ Asia: Security forces appeared to be in control of the streets of the main city Almaty on Friday morning, but gunfire could still be heard after days of unrest in which dozens of people were killed and public buildings ransacked and torched, according to Reuters.
"The militants have not laid down their arms, they continue to commit crimes or are preparing for them. The fight against them must be pursued to the end. Whoever does not surrender will be destroyed," President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in a televised address.
"I have given the order to law enforcement agencies and the army to shoot to kill without warning," Tokayev said. He blamed foreign-trained terrorists for the worst violence in the Central Asian state's 30 years of independence.
Russia's defense ministry, cited by Interfax, said more than 70 planes were flying round the clock to bring Russian troops into Kazakhstan, and they were now helping control Almaty's main airport, recaptured on Thursday from protesters.
Demonstrations that began as a response to a fuel price hike have swelled into a broad movement against the government and former President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
He turned over the presidency to Tokayev three years ago, but his family is widely believed to have retained power in Nur-Sultan, the purpose-built capital that bears his name.
Kazakh law enforcers eliminated 26 participants of the recent mass protests and detained over 3,000 more, Khabar-24 TV channel reported on Friday citing the country’s Interior Ministry.
"In all, over 3,000 criminals were detained, 26 more killed and 18 armed terrorists were wounded," the television channel reported adding that 18 law enforcers were killed and up to 750 policemen were wounded during mass disorders.
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