On Thursday, new violence erupted in Kazakhstan’s capital, Almaty, as Russia dispatched paratroopers to quell a nationwide rebellion in one of Moscow’s closest former Soviet allies.
Hundreds of rioters were slain overnight into the early hours of Thursday morning, according to Almaty police. At least 18 members of the security forces were killed, with two of them found decapitated. Over 2,000 people were detained.
After a night of street clashes between protestors and troops, the city’s presidential mansion and mayor’s office were both set on fire and burned-out cars littered the streets.
The main airport, which had been seized by demonstrators earlier, has been regained control over, by the military. On Thursday evening, fighting erupted in Almaty’s main square, which had been besieged by troops and hundreds of demonstrators for most of the day.
The Russian involvement was a proposition by the Kremlin to Kazakhstan that by quickly putting down the worst unrest in Kazakhstan’s 30 years of independence, it could guarantee its interests in the oil and uranium-producing Central Asian republic.
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