A man walks past a destroyed police post building in Alma-AtaALMA-ATA, Jan 20Kanat Taimerdenov, head of the Alma-Ata police department, spoke about new details of the failed assault on the department building by armed criminals during the period of mass unrest, in particular, how ammunition was delivered to the besieged building. Taimerdenov recalled that the attack on the building of the city police department and a number of district police departments was committed on the evening of January 5 and on the night of January 6. According to him, it was important for the police to prevent the assault, because the buildings contained a solid arsenal of weapons.The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan spoke about Tokaev's order that frightened the militants «I contacted all the heads of police departments and gave the order to prepare for possible attacks so that they and their personnel would gain a foothold in the field. And, indeed, at about 19:00 in the evening (16.00 Moscow time) to our «groups of armed people began to gather in the building. At first there were threats, demands to surrender. But after they were refused, attempts began to storm. We have already said that there were 27 attacks on the building of the department in just a night,» Taimerdenov, quoted by press service.According to him, by morning the defenders of the police building began to run out of ammunition stocks, which were replenished thanks to the help of the National Guard. «Toward morning we really needed help. Somewhere around 03:00-04:00 am (00.00 — 01.00 Moscow time) we were already running out of cartridges. When we informed the minister about this, he gave the command to the National Guard, and on the armored they managed to break through to us in special vehicles and deliver ammunition,” said the head of the police department. 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 throughout the country until January 19 and launched a counter-terrorism operation. According to the UN, during the protests in Kazakhstan, about 1,000 people were injured. According to the country's Prosecutor General's Office, 4,578 people were injured as a result of the riots, 225 people were killed, including 19 security officials.The crisis in Kazakhstan is part of a hybrid aggression against UkraineOn the morning of January 5, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart 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 for help from the CSTO «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. Later, on January 7, Tokayev said that terrorists, including those who arrived from abroad, continue 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 successful completion of the CSTO mission was announced on January 13. On Wednesday, Kazakhstan's Defense Ministry announced that there were no more foreign military personnel in the republic.
