Protesters, cops die in Kazakhstan unrest; Russia sends troops

Dozens of protesters and 18 police died during extraordinarily violent demonstrations in Kazakhstan that saw government buildings stormed and set ablaze, authorities said Thursday. One police officer was found beheaded in escalating unrest that poses a growing challenge to authoritarian rule in the Central Asian nation.

 

After breaking into the presidential residence and the mayor's office in the country's largest city Wednesday, demonstrators continued to try to storm more buildings overnight.

 

“Dozens of attackers were liquidated,” police spokeswoman Saltanat Azirbek told state news channel Khabar-24, using a term common to describe the killing of people thought to be extremists. Twelve police officers were killed in the unrest and 353 injured, according to city officials cited by the channel.

 

While the president initially seemed to try to mollify the protesters, he later promised harsh measures to quell the unrest, which he blamed on “terrorist bands,” and called on a Russia-led military alliance for help.

 

Meanwhile, Russia and its allies dispatched troops to help quell protests in Kazakhstan as after fuel-price increases unleashed a wave of popular anger that poses the biggest threat to the central Asian country’s leadership since its independence in 1991.