BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 26
Trend:
The operational headquarters of Kazakhstan’s Almaty city for the fight against terrorism announced the introduction of an anti-terrorist operation regime in the city’s Turksib district, Trend reports via Kazinform.
The anti-terrorist operation started from 00:00 (GMT +6) on January 26 and will continue until 00:00 on January 27.
During the anti-terrorist measures, five leaders and members of an organized criminal group who participated from January 4 to 6 of this year in robbery attacks on state institutions and commercial facilities in Almaty were detained.
According to the headquarters, during the detention, weapons (pistols of the "PM", "TT" brand, sawn-off shotgun, cartridges for them), a powdery substance and tablets with a specific smell were confiscated from the suspects.
Special and law enforcement agencies continue to carry out operational search activities to identify participants and organizers of the riots.
The Police Department asked to treat the work of law enforcement agencies with understanding and strictly follow their legal requirements.
Kazakhstan's government announced late Jan. 4 that it was restoring some price caps on liquefied petroleum gas, after the rare protests reached Almaty following a sharp rise in the price of the fuel at the start of the year.
Many Kazakhs have converted their cars to run on LPG, which is far cheaper than gasoline as a vehicle fuel in Kazakhstan because of price caps. But the government argued that the low price was unsustainable and lifted the caps on Jan. 1.
After the price of the fuel spiked, big demonstrations erupted on Jan. 2 in certain parts of the country. Public protests are illegal in the country unless their organizers file a notice in advance.
Following the development of the situation, the government declared a state of emergency all over the country. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the government initiated anti-terrorist operations to deal with the ongoing riots.
Also, the divisions of the united peacekeeping contingent of CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) arrived in Kazakhstan to assist in restoring order and help protect strategic objects of the country.