Kazakh president: Forces can shoot to kill to quell unrest

Kazakhstan’s president authorized security forces on Friday to shoot to kill those participating in unrest whom he called “terrorists,” opening the door for a dramatic escalation in a crackdown on anti-government protests that have turned violent.

The Central Asian nation this week experienced its worst street protests since gaining independence from the Soviet Union three decades ago, and dozens have been killed in the unrest. The demonstrations began over a near-doubling of prices for a type of vehicle fuel but quickly spread across the country, reflecting wider discontent with authoritarian rule.

In a televised address to the nation, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev used harsh rhetoric, referring to those involved in the turmoil as “terrorists,” “bandits” and “militants” — though it is unclear how peaceful protests gathered steam and then descended into violence.

“I have given the order to law enforcement and the army to shoot to kill without warning,” Tokayev said. “Those who don’t surrender will be eliminated.”

He also blasted calls for talks with the protesters made by some countries as “nonsense.” “What negotiations can be held with criminals, murderers?” Tokayev asked.

Amid the growing crackdown, internet service has been severely disrupted and sometimes blocked, and several airports closed, including one in Almaty, the country’s largest city — making it difficult to get information about what’s happening inside the country. Cellphone service have been severely disrupted as well.

Tokayev has also called on a Russia-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, for help, and troops began arriving Thursday.

Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry reported Friday that security forces have killed 26 protesters during the unrest, which escalated sharply on Wednesday. Another 18 were wounded and more than 3,000 people have been detained. A total of 18 law enforcement officers were reported killed, and over 700 injured.

The numbers could not be independently verified, and it was not clear if more people may have died in the melee as the protests turned extremely violent, with people storming government buildings and setting them ablaze.

More skirmishes in Almaty were reported on Friday morning. Russia’s state news agency Tass reported that the building occupied by the Kazakh branch of the Mir broadcaster, funded by several former Soviet states, was on fire.

But the Almaty airport — stormed and seized earlier by the protesters — was back under the control of Kazakh law enforcement and CSTO forces, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Friday. The airport will remain shut until Friday evening, local TV station Khabar 24 reported, citing the airport’s spokespeople.

Tokayev indicated on Friday morning that some measure of calm had been restored, saying “local authorities are in control of the situation.” Still, he added said that “counterterrorist actions” should continue.

Tokayev has vacillated between trying to mollify the protesters — including issuing a 180-day price cap on vehicle fuel and a moratorium on utility rate increases — and promising harsh measures to quell the unrest.

Worries that a broader crackdown could be on the horizon grew after Tokayev called on the CSTO for help. The operation is its first military action, an indication that Kazakhstan’s neighbors, particularly Russia, are concerned that the unrest could spread.

Kazakh officials have insisted that troops from the CSTO alliance, which includes several former Soviet republics, will not be fighting the demonstrators, and instead will take on guarding government institutions. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the foreign troops deployed thus far were at all involved in suppressing the unrest.

In his address to the nation, Tokayev repeated his allegations that “foreign actors” along with “independent media” helped incite the turmoil.

He offered no evidence for those claims, but such rhetoric has often been used by former Soviet nations, most prominently Russia and Belarus, which sought to suppress mass anti-government demonstrations in recent years.

Kazakh media cited foreign ministry officials as saying that a total of 2,500 troops from CSTO nations have arrived to Kazakhstan, and all of them were deployed to Almaty.

In other parts of the country life started to return to normal. In the capital, Nur-Sultan, access to the internet has been partially restored, and train traffic has been resumed across Kazakhstan.

Tokayev said in his address to the nation that he decided to restore internet access in certain regions of the country “for certain time intervals,” without going into details where exactly the internet will be restored, where, or for how long.

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Associated Press writer Jim Heintz contributed to this report.