Kazakhstan: over 2,700 detained since start of riots in Almaty

ALMATY, Jan. 18 (YPA) – Police in the Kazakh city of Almaty have arrested over 2,700 detained since the riots broke out.

“Since the beginning of the counter-terrorism operation, 2,748 participants have been arrested in illegal acts, looting and other crimes,” Kazakh authorities said in a statement Tuesday. A total of 131 firearms and 4,179 pieces of ammunition were seized.”

Earlier this year, Kazakhstan witnessed a wave of violent protests, and a number of protesters used weapons in the face of security forces, killing a number of them, and attacking malls, banks and others, particularly in Alma Ata, the country’s largest city.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the attempt to carry out a coup had failed, adding that “in general the acute phase of the counter-terrorism operation has been overcome, and the situation in all regions has become stable.”

E.M