BRUSSELS Jan 7 NATO is concerned about the events in Kazakhstan, calls on the parties to restraint and respect for human rights, said Secretary General of the Alliance Jens Stoltenberg following a virtual meeting of foreign ministers of the bloc countries. “We are closely monitoring the situation in Kazakhstan and are concerned about what is happening. people, «he said. Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the early days of 2022 — residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the west of the country opposed a twofold increase in prices for liquefied gas. Then the speeches spread to other cities, including Alma-Ata, the old capital and the largest city of the republic: looting began there, militants attacked state institutions, took away weapons. In response, the authorities declared a state of emergency throughout the country until January 19 and launched a counter-terrorist operation. On the morning of January 5, Kazakh President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev dismissed the government and headed the republic’s Security Council, removing the first head of state, Nursultan Nazarbayev, from this post. At the first meeting of the Security Council under his leadership, Tokayev described the situation in Kazakhstan as undermining the integrity of the state and said that he had asked the CSTO for help «in overcoming the terrorist threat.» The CSTO Collective Security Council decided to send collective peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan to normalize the situation in the country. On January 7, Tokayev announced that terrorists, including those who arrived from abroad, continued to resist, and promised to destroy those who did not lay down their arms. In addition, the President noted that all the demands of citizens, expressed in peaceful forms, were heard. Follow the situation in Kazakhstan in the online report & gt; & gt; 
Protesters set up yurts on the square in Aktau
