Russia’s defence ministry confirms its troops in Kazakhstan on peacekeeping duty have withdrawn from the country. Kazakhstan lifted the state of emergency imposed after unprecedented unrest in the Central Asian state led to the withdrawal of its troops. Russia’s defence ministry said four military planes carrying the last of its troops had departed the capital Nur-Sultan and Kazakhstan’s largest city Almaty.
‘The last units of the peacekeepers and the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent headed by Colonel General Andrei Serdyukov will return home on these planes, it said, according to Russian news agencies. Images published by the Russian defence ministry showed planes landing at the airport in the city of Ulyanovsk in southern Russia, where a ceremony marked the troops’ return.
On January 6, troops from the former Soviet republics of Armenia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Russia began arriving after an invitation from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. On Thursday, the withdrawal began. Sergey Serdyukov announced that the mission was successfully completed under the auspices of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a six-nation military bloc led by Moscow.
Serdyukov said that peacekeeping operations in Kazakhstan had been completed. The withdrawal was announced on the same day that oil-rich Kazakhstan lifted a state of emergency imposed after violence broke out that authorities blamed on bandits and ‘terrorists’. Kazakhstan has been roiled by clashes following peaceful protests over a New Year fuel price hike, which have killed at least 225 people including 19 servicemen.
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