Nearly 8,000 detained in Kazakhstan over violent protests
MOSCOW (AP) — Nearly 8,000 people in Kazakhstan were detained by police during protests that descended into violence last week and marked the worst unrest the former Soviet nation has faced since gaining independence 30 years ago, authorities said Monday.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Monday described the unrest that followed initially peaceful protests against rising energy prices as a “terrorist aggression” against the mineral-rich Central Asian nation of 19 million and dismissed reports that authorities targeted peaceful demonstrators as “disinformation.”
Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry reported that 7,939 people have been detained across the country. The National Security Committee, Kazakhstan’s counterintelligence and anti-terrorism agency, said Monday the situation has “stabilized and is under control.”
Monday was declared a day of mourning for the victims of the violent unrest, which the health ministry says killed 164 people, including three children.
https://apnews.com/article/kazakhstan-europe-national-security-terrorism-2c026ecb00584aba668f320d4482d0f1
