Kazakhstan says CSTO peacekeeping mission completed, withdrawal to start within 2 days

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has said that the withdrawal of peacekeeping troops deployed by the Russian-led alliance Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) would begin in two days. The CSTO forces were sent to Kazakhstan to restore order as the country was engulfed in unrest triggered by protests against the two-fold increase in fuel prices. According to Sputnik, Tokayev said that it would not take more than 10 days for the CSTO forces to leave the Central Asian state. 

"The main mission of the CSTO peacekeeping forces has been successfully completed, in two days a phased withdrawal of the united CSTO peacekeeping contingent will begin. The process of withdrawal of the contingent will take no more than 10 days," Tokayev said, according to the report.

Earlier this month, a wave of demonstrations swept across Kazakhstan following the hike in gas prices. However, the Kazakh authorities said that the protests were hijacked by ‘terrorist’ elements seeking to topple statehood. In the wake of the unrest, Tokayev had declared a nationwide state of emergency which was effective until 19 January. 

Kazakhstan was under 'hybrid terrorist attack'

Earlier, Kazakhstan’s State Secretary Erlan Karin has said that the upheaval in the country triggered by protests against fuel price hikes was a “hybrid terrorist” attack. According to Sputnik, Karin said that the unrest was carried out with the participation of both the internal and external forces which were aimed to oust the government. 

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had even called for military assistance from the Russian-led alliance Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). "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. 

He also said that there was a “conspiracy” of both internal and external forces, to use information attacks and terrorist forces. He said, “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”.

On Monday, while speaking at a rare session of CSTO Collective Security Council, Tokayev said that the recent unrest in the country had been in preparation for a very long time. As members of the Russian-led alliance met virtually, the Kazakh President said that the main goal of the “terrorists” causing the unrest in the nation was undermining the constitutional order, seizure of power along with an attempted coup.

(Image: AP)