Kazakhstan facing a hybrid terrorist attack, says State Secretary

The State Secretary of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Erlan Karin, says that the unrest in Kazakhstan was a “hybrid terrorist” attack carried out with the participation of both internal and external forces and aimed at overthrowing the government.

“We are faced with a hybrid terrorist attack on Kazakhstan with the aim of destabilization and coup,” Karin said on the Khabar 24 TV channel on Monday, according to Sputnik News Agency.

He said that there was a “conspiracy” of both internal and external forces and that apart from terrorist groups, information attacks were also used.

“There is a certain conspiracy of internal and certain external forces, since the participants of the, let’s say, terrorist strike groups, were both Kazakh citizens and foreign citizens,” Karin said.

 The state secretary added that it is not correct to describe the events in Kazakhstan as an attempt to carry out a color or velvet revolution, since such scenarios would be ineffective in Kazakhstan given the specific circumstances in the country.

“Our country has held out. The president’s decisive actions thwarted plans for destabilization, including his decision to invite the CSTO peacekeeping contingent. There was a very critical situation …so it was necessary to take tough, decisive actions …The involvement of the CSTO forces thwarted all the plans of destabilization. Thanks to the efforts of the peacekeeping contingent, it was possible to concentrate our forces on conducting a direct counter-terrorist operation … this made it possible to protect state integrity,” Karin said.

Two extremist cells, whose members took part in the mass riots in Kazakhstan, have been neutralized in the city of Almaty, the country’s National Security Committee informed on early Monday.

“The National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan is implementing measures to search for and detain participants in mass riots and acts of terrorism, as well as to clarify the circumstances of the crimes committed. As a result, two extremist cells have been neutralized on the territory of the city of Almaty, whose members took an active part in the riots in the megalopolis on January 4-8, 2022,” the committee said in a statement.

According to the release, four members of the same extremist cell were arrested on Sunday and firearms, traumatic and stun grenades, as well as other material evidence, were seized from them.

“The leader of another group, a foreign citizen, actively participated in the riots and had connections with terrorist groups abroad. According to the investigation, he purposefully arrived in Kazakhstan to prepare massive illegal actions and attacks on government bodies and security forces. A search for his accomplices has been organized,” the committee said.

Situation in Kazakhstan stabilizes, National Security Committee says

TASS news agency quoted the Kazakh National Security Committee as saying that the situation in Kazakhstan has stabilized following mass riots and is under control, said in a statement on Monday.

“As of January 10, the situation in Kazakhstan stabilized and is under control. The national and regional counterterrorism operations centers have eliminated the hotbeds of terrorist threats. All administrative buildings in the cities of Almaty, Kyzylorda, Taldykorgan and Taraz have been cleared of terrorists,” the statement reads.

According to the committee, crucial and strategic facilities and weapons storage sites have been secured. “Mop-up operations are underway in places where militants and participants in mass riots may be hiding. The evidence of criminal activities is being collected,” the statement added.

The committee also called on the country’s people to provide assistance to law enforcement agencies in identifying those involved in terrorist activities and surrender firearms and ammunition stolen during mass riots.

Protests cause over $215Mln worth of damage in Kazakhstan – Chamber Of Entrepreneurs

Over $215 million worth of material damage resulted from violent protests across Kazakhstan as of Monday morning, according to a conservative estimate released by the Kazakh National Atameken Chamber of Entrepreneurs.

“As of 09:00 a. m. (03:00 GMT) on January 10, the total amount of the damage estimated, on a rough calculation, more than 93.7 billion tenge ($216 million) (in Almaty – 92.2 billion tenge),” the statement said.

The statement added that a total of 1,319 affected business entities and 1,488 objects were detected in nine regions of Kazakhstan, with 1,234 entities and 1,399 facilities in Almaty.

“The industries of the affected business entities are: trade – 1,245; public catering – 25; financial sector – 37; logistics – 9; mass media – 2,” according to the statement.

Source: Agencies