San Francisco Chronicle

Dozens die amid unrest — Russian troops seek calm

- By Jim Heintz Jim Heintz is an Associated Press writer.

MOSCOW — Security forces in Kazakhstan killed dozens of protesters and 12 police officers died in an eruption of violence that saw demonstrat­ors storm government buildings and set them on fire, authoritie­s said Thursday.

One police officer was found beheaded in the unrest, which poses a growing challenge to authoritar­ian rule in the former Soviet republic.

Despite the severe response by authoritie­s, protesters took to the streets again Thursday in the country’s largest city, Almaty, a day after breaking into the presidenti­al residence and the mayor’s office there.

Police were also out in force, including in the capital of NurSultan, which was reported quiet, and a Russian-led force of peacekeepi­ng troops arrived Thursday.

Video from the Russian news agency Tass showed police firing intensely on a street near Republic Square, where demonstrat­ors had gathered, though they could not be seen in the footage. Late Thursday, Tass said protesters had been swept from the square but that sporadic gunfire in the area continued.

In the unrest on Wednesday, “dozens of attackers were liquidated,” police spokeswoma­n Saltanat Azirbek told state news channel Khabar-24. Twelve police officers were killed and 353 injured, the channel reported, citing city officials. The Interior Ministry said 2,000 people were arrested.

Tens of thousands of people, some reported to be carrying clubs and shields, have taken to the streets in recent days in the worst protests the country has seen since gaining independen­ce from the Soviet Union three decades ago.

The demonstrat­ions began over a near-doubling of prices for a type of vehicle fuel, but seemed to reflect wider discontent in the country, which has been under the rule of the same party since independen­ce.

In a concession, the government on Thursday announced a 180-day price cap on vehicle fuel and a moratorium on utility rate increases.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has vacillated between trying to mollify the protesters, including accepting the resignatio­n of his government, and promising harsh measures to quell the unrest, which he blamed on “terrorist bands.”

Worries that a broader crackdown could be on the horizon grew after Tokayev called on a Russia-led military alliance for help.

The alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organizati­on, includes the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The operation is its first military action, an indication that Kazakhstan’s neighbors, particular­ly Russia, are concerned that the unrest could spread.

Russia and Kazakhstan share a 4,700-mile border, much of it along open steppes.

 ?? RU-RTR Russian Television ?? Russian peacekeepe­rs exit a military plane at an airport in Kazakhstan. A Russia-led military alliance is sending peacekeepi­ng troops at the request of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
RU-RTR Russian Television Russian peacekeepe­rs exit a military plane at an airport in Kazakhstan. A Russia-led military alliance is sending peacekeepi­ng troops at the request of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

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