Police cars in the center of Almaty NUR-SULTAN, Jan 9 More than 5 thousand people have been detained, 125 criminal cases have been initiated due to the riots in Kazakhstan, the press service of the President of the country reports. “Currently, 125 criminal cases have been opened, 5.8 thousand people have been brought to the police, among them there are a significant number of foreigners. It was noted that in all regions of the country the situation has been stabilized, control over the operational situation has been established, all previously seized administrative buildings have been released by law enforcement agencies, the work of communal facilities and life support systems is being restored, «the message says. Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the first 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. Later, the protests 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 across the country until January 19 and launched a counter-terrorism operation. According to the UN, about 1,000 people were injured during the protests in Kazakhstan. According to the updated data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, 16 security officials were killed. On the morning of January 5, Kazakh President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev dismissed the government and headed the Security Council. 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 said 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. The crisis in Kazakhstan is part of a hybrid aggression against Of Ukraine
