Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan to put down deadly uprising

Russia sent paratroopers into Kazakhstan on Thursday to help put down a countrywide uprising after deadly violence spread across the tightly controlled former Soviet state.

Police said they had killed dozens of rioters in the Central Asian country’s main city Almaty. State television said 13 members of the security forces had died, including two found decapitated.

A presidential residence and the mayor’s office in the city were both ablaze, Reuters journalists said. By Thursday afternoon, the city’s airport, seized earlier by protesters, was under firm control of military personnel. Burnt out cars littered the streets.

Earlier on Thursday, several armoured personnel carriers and scores of troops had entered the main square of Almaty, and gunshots could be heard as troops approached the crowd, Reuters correspondents reported from the scene. Later, the square appeared peaceful, with 200-300 protesters still gathered and no troops around.

Unverified video on social media showed troops patrolling Almaty’s foggy streets overnight, firing weapons, as well as widespread looting in the city. Masked protesters, some carrying shields and batons apparently seized from police, marched through billowing tear gas along a tree-lined avenue, to the sound of detonations.

The internet had been shut down across the country and the full extent of the violence was impossible to confirm. But the unrest was unprecedented for Kazakhstan, ruled firmly since Soviet times by leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, 81, who had held on to the reins despite stepping down three years ago as president.
ALMATY, Jan 6 (Reuters)