Kazakhstan crisis: Police told to 'shoot to kill without warning' to end unrest, says president
Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Friday he was authorising law enforcement agencies to open fire "without warning" to end chaotic riots in the country.
"I have given the order to shoot to kill without warning," Tokayev said in a televised address, adding that "terrorists continue to damage property and use weapons against citizens".
He rejected any negotiations and promised to "eliminate" those he described as "armed bandits", claiming that 20,000 rampaged through the major city of Almaty with a "clear plan".
His address came hours after he said in a statement that "constitutional order has largely been restored in all regions", adding that operations to restore law and order would continue "until the militants are completely destroyed".
Kazakhstan's economic capital Almaty on Thursday afternoon saw gunfire and explosions with police forces seen firing live rounds after surrounding a group of about 200 people, Russia's Sputnik news service reported.
The military was also deployed by Thursday afternoon, including Russian paratroopers sent in by Moscow after president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev asked the regional intergovernmental military organisation CSTO to intervene.
Military personnel regained control of the main airport, seized earlier by protesters. Thursday evening saw renewed battles in Almaty's main square, occupied alternately by troops and hundreds of protesters throughout much of the day.
Dozens of protesters were reported dead earlier in the day after dissatisfaction over gas prices on Sunday snowballed into Kazakhstan's biggest demonstrations since it declared independence from the Soviet Union.
The anger over a near-doubling of gas prices has grown to include other grievances including poor living
Read more on euronews.com
