As reported by "ReutersRussian paratroopers were sent to Kazakhstan as an international peacekeeping force to quell the violent unrest in the Central Asian country.
The announcement was made by a military alliance of former Soviet states.
The Kazakh police previously said that, during the riots, caused by the increase in fuel prices, the armed forces had "eliminated”Dozens of rioters in the city of Almaty.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to quell the revolt, had asked for the intervention of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance made up of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, accusing the gangs "terrorists"Trained abroad for violent protests.
Several armored vehicles and dozens of troops entered Almaty's main square on Thursday morning, where hundreds of people were protesting against the government for the third day.
According to Reuters witnesses, gunshots were heard as troops approached the crowd, calming the situation in the square. Videos, unverified on social media, showed troops patrolling the streets of Almaty at night.
State television on Thursday showed a video showing several guns on the street and a group of people approaching to take them. The TASS news agency quoted the Kazakh health ministry as saying more than 1.000 people were injured during the protests and more than 400 of them were in hospital.
The riots, which began as protests against the rising price of liquefied petroleum gas, a fuel used by the poor to power their cars, have morphed into anti-government riots fueled by deep resentment over the former three decades of rule. president Nursultan Nazarbayev and his successor.
Nazarbayev, 81, who has never made any statements since the protests began, resigned in 2019 but remains a political force and his family appears to control much of the country's economy believed to be the largest in Central Asia.
According to Nazarbayev's successor Tokayev, the gangs were seizing buildings, infrastructure and weapons. "It is a violation of the integrity of the state and, above all, it is an attack on our citizens who ask me ... to help them urgentlynza", he has declared.
It also ordered government protection for foreign embassies and businesses owned by foreign companies. The nation's reputation for stability had helped attract hundreds of billions of dollars of foreign investment in the oil and metal industries.
State TV also said that the National Bank of Kazakhstan has decided to suspend the activity of banks in the country for the safety of its workers. The internet in the country is mostly inactive.
According to the Russian state agency "Sputnik”, Citing the Kazakh interior ministry, eight police and national guard soldiers were killed in the riots on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Russian news agencies, citing the Kazakh media, then stated that, in the course of a described operation of "anti Terrorism”, Two other soldiers were killed in the Almaty airport.