Terrorists seized Alma-Ata airport during the January riots to ensure the arrival of other militants into the country. This was announced on Saturday, January 29, by the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
“You probably noticed that the militants organized the seizure of the airport in Almaty. Now the investigation shows that the airport was seized in order to ensure the passage through it of citizens who arrived from a Central Asian city. These were trained militants, commanders, who, of course, flew in under the guise of guest workers. They were led through the border posts, launched into the city, and [они] started leading the operation,” Tokayev said in an interview with the TV channel “Khabar 24“.
On January 26, the regime of the anti-terrorist operation was canceled in Alma-Ata, as well as in Alma-Ata and Zhambyl regions. It is noted that in order to detect weapons and explosives, law enforcement agencies will continue to be allowed to control the movement of vehicles and inspect them.
Protests in Kazakhstan began on January 2. The protesters protested against the rise in prices for liquefied natural gas. The protests soon turned into riots.
The situation escalated especially in Alma-Ata. The protesters broke into the administration building, set fire to the prosecutor’s office and the office of the ruling party. Radical protesters armed themselves and began to loot, destroying shops, pharmacies and banks in the city. It was reported that during the riots in Kazakhstan, 19 security officials were killed.
Tokayev said on January 5 that he had turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, which includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Armenia) for help in overcoming the terrorist threat. All the CSTO countries responded to the request, they sent collective peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan and guarded a number of strategic facilities.
On January 10, Tokayev announced the restoration of constitutional order in Kazakhstan. The successful completion of the CSTO mission was announced on January 13.
On January 19, the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan announced that there were no more foreign military personnel in the republic.
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