Nur-Sultan. January 10th. INTERFAX-KAZAKHSTAN - In Kazakhstan, only local special forces and the military are involved in the counter-terrorism operation, Secretary of State of the Republic Yerlan Karin said.
"The counter-terrorism operation itself involves only the Kazakh special forces Arystan, Arlan, Berkut, as well as the forces of the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan, which clean up terrorist groups and gangs," Karin said on the state television channel on Monday.
Earlier, he noted that the CSTO mission is exclusively peacekeeping and is designed for a short period of time.
"After the stabilization of the situation, the entire united peacekeeping contingent of the CSTO will be withdrawn from our country," he said.
The situation in Kazakhstan worsened on January 2, when rallies against a sharp increase in prices for liquefied gas began in Zhanaozen (a city in the Mangystau region, in the west of the country). Then they escalated into mass protests across the country with economic and political demands. On January 4 and 5, protesters clashed with security forces in Almaty. There are dead and injured. On the morning of January 5, the President of Kazakhstan dismissed the government. A state of emergency has been introduced in the country until January 19.
On Wednesday, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that he appealed to the leaders of the CSTO countries for help in overcoming the terrorist threat in the country.
