Violence erupted in Kazakhstan’s largest city on Thursday as Russia sent in paratroopers to quell a nationwide uprising in one of Moscow’s closest former Soviet allies.
Police in the main city Almaty said they had killed dozens of protesters. The authorities said at least 18 members of the security forces had died, two of whom were found decapitated, including over 2,000 people who had been arrested, reported AFP.
Several government buildings were in ruins and bullet casings were strewn over the grounds of the presidential residence, which was stormed and looted by protesters.
Local media reports said security forces had cleared demonstrators from the central square and other key government buildings, but there were also reports of gunfire elsewhere in the city.
The internet was shut down across the country, making it impossible for activists and journalists to gauge the extent of the unrest.
The state has been ruled firmly since Soviet times by leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, who still controls the country, despite stepping down three years ago as president.
Nazarbayev’s hand-picked successor, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called in the Russian forces overnight as part of a Moscow-led military alliance of ex-Soviet states, to combat what he called foreign-trained “terrorist groups”.
Moscow said it would consult with Kazakhstan and allies on steps to support the Kazakh “counter-terrorist operation.”
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