Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said yesterday his country had defeated an attempted coup d’etat during historic violence last week, blaming militants from Central Asia, Afghanistan and the Middle East for the unrest.
He also insisted that Russian-led troops called in to help quell the unrest were in the country to only protect strategic facilities and would go home “soon”.
The Central Asian country is reeling in the wake of the worst violence in its recent history, but life in Kazakhstan’s largest city Almaty appeared to be returning to normal Monday as the nation observed a day of mourning for dozens killed.
Tokayev said yesterday in a video conference with leaders from several ex-Soviet countries that “armed militants” had used the backdrop of protests — which began with rallies over a fuel price hike — to try to seize power.
“It was an attempted coup d’etat,” he said.
Speaking with European Council President Charles Michel later yesterday, Tokayev said militants from Central Asia, Afghanistan and the Middle East were behind the unrest.
Kazakhstan and neighbouring Moscow have repeatedly blamed the unrest on forces outside the country, without offering evidence.
In a separate call yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi discussed Kazakhstan, stressing “their concern about the intervention of external forces”, Moscow said.
The ministers said “foreign mercenaries” were involved “in attacks on civilians and law enforcement officials, the seizure of state institutions and other facilities”, according to the Russian foreign ministry.
Almaty, the country’s main city and former capital, had been nearly completely offline since Wednesday. Local and foreign websites were accessible again yesterday morning but connections were far from stable.
AFP correspondents saw public transport operating there for the first time since the violence, which left government buildings burned and gutted and many businesses looted.
Following a request from Tokayev, the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) deployed troops and military hardware to the country.
Kazakh authorities have struggled to provide a clear and full picture of the unrest.
Tokayev said in the meeting that his country’s security personnel “have never fired and will never fire on peaceful demonstrators”.
On Sunday, the information ministry retracted a statement that said more than 164 people had died in the unrest, blaming the publication on a “technical mistake”. Officials previously said 26 “armed criminals” had been killed and that 16 security officers had died.
In total, nearly 8,000 people have been detained for questioning, the interior ministry said yesterday.
Tokayev dismissed his cabinet last week in an effort to placate the protesters and was expected to present a new government to parliament today.
On Saturday, authorities announced the arrest on treason charges of Karim Masimov, a high-profile ally of founding president Nursultan Nazarbayev who was dismissed from his post as security committee chief at the height of the unrest.