Kazakhstan President Tokayev: Russian-led forces will begin withdrawing from Kazakhstan within two days

Russian troops of Kazakhstan begin to withdraw from Kazakhstan within two days, says Kazakh president Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev according to Reuters and AFP.

Tokayev told parliament on Tuesday that the withdrawal of troops would take no more than ten days.

KTJS, internationally CSTO, is a Collective Security Treaty Organization whose members include six states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

Kazakhstan asked the KTJS for military assistance to quell the unrest in the country since the beginning of the year. More than 2,000 soldiers from the organization were sent to the country.

According to President Tokayev, the main task of the troops has been “successfully completed.”

Read more: Russian soldiers were flown to Kazakhstan on behalf of a little-known organization – what is it about?

Kazakhstan the interior ministry said on Tuesday that some 9,900 people have been arrested by the country’s security forces in connection with the unrest that began last week.

The unrest began in the Mangistau region of western Kazakhstan as local liquefied petroleum gas prices rose at the turn of the year. The protests developed into a wider expression of dissatisfaction against, among others, the country’s president.

During the unrest, authorities said an anti-terrorism operation was being held in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city.

President Tokayev has accused the riots of attempting a coup and described the protesters as terrorists, among others. Russian President Vladimir Putin, an important ally of Kazakhstan, has also assessed Kazakhstan as a target of “international terrorism”.

At least 164 people have died as a result of the protests, according to the country’s authorities. Several administrative buildings have been destroyed in the largest cities in Kazakhstan.

Tokajev nominated Kazakhstan as new prime minister on Tuesday Alikhan Samilovia. The lower house of the country’s parliament supported the president’s proposal for unanimity.

Smailov served as the first deputy prime minister in Kazakhstan’s previous government, which was dismissed by the president last week in an effort to quell unrest.

In the social During the unrest, images of Kazakh soldiers wearing UN-marked blue helmets have been circulated in the media.

The UN criticized Kazakhstan for the incident on Monday and stressed that its equipment should not be used for non-UN official peacekeeping missions.

Kazakhstan issued a statement on the subject, which AFP describes as embarrassing. According to the statement, the helmets were the only UN equipment used by local soldiers as part of their official equipment.

“In fact, all necessary steps were taken to prevent the use of equipment carrying the UN text in the counter-terrorism operation in Almaty,” the statement posted on the Twitter account of the UN Permanent Representative in Kazakhstan emphasizes.

A statement from Kazakhstan describes soldiers wearing helmets bearing UN insignia as local peacekeepers. According to the statement, the troops have been part of the peacekeeping unit of the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan.

However, on the basis of statements made by the UN since then, it would appear that the soldiers in question did not have the authority to wear equipment bearing UN insignia.