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| Law enforcement officers beheaded in Kazakhstan – media | Law enforcement officers beheaded in Kazakhstan – media |
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| The death toll among law enforcement agents during the unrest in Almaty has reportedly reached 13 | The death toll among law enforcement agents during the unrest in Almaty has reportedly reached 13 |
| Three officers have been beheaded during violent protests in the Kazakhstani city of Almaty, according to local media. The death toll among police and security forces has reportedly reached 13. | Three officers have been beheaded during violent protests in the Kazakhstani city of Almaty, according to local media. The death toll among police and security forces has reportedly reached 13. |
| Reports of beheadings have come courtesy of Kazakhstan’s state-run TV channel Khabar 24, citing city authorities. Some 353 officers are said to have been injured. | |
| It is not yet clear whether the rioters decapitated the victims while they were still alive or mutilated their bodies posthumously. | |
| The channel cited officials as stating that the beheadings were “direct proof of the rioting groups’ terrorist and extremist nature.” | |
| Russia’s RIA news agency has reached out to the Almaty authorities for comment, with officials confirming to the journalists that at least two bodies had been found headless. | |
| Protests flared up in multiple regions in Kazakhstan in early January, with citizens initially decrying a steep hike in the cost of liquefied petroleum gas. In an apparent bid to deescalate the situation, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev imposed a ceiling on fuel prices for six months and disbanded his government. However, violent demonstrations continue unabated, with the former capital, Almaty, becoming the focus. | |
| Footage circulating on social media shows demonstrators beating up police officers, seizing firearms and grenades, and storming and setting fire to administrative buildings across the city. Looters have also reportedly ransacked numerous stores. | |
| Special units were deployed to Almaty on Wednesday night, with reports of gunfights between the security forces and armed rioters. Authorities say dozens of armed citizens were shot and killed by the police. | |
| The president branded the rioters “terrorists” and claimed they had been trained abroad, warning protesters the authorities would brook no violence or looting. He has asked allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization to send in peacekeepers to assist in stabilizing the situation. Russia, which is part of the alliance, has already deployed paratroopers to guard government offices. |