“A peacekeeping contingent of the CSTO countries has been introduced. The peacekeeping mission should not be confused with the introduction of collective rapid reaction forces," he explained.
Besides, according to the official, the combat part of the operation to clean up the city [from militants] on January 6 was carried out with the use of local forces, including those of the Defense Ministry.
"At the same time, the CSTO peacekeepers perform cover and security functions. All administrative buildings of the city have been cleared of terrorists,” Abayev emphasized.
“Most of the militants have been liquidated or detained. Their identities are being established. The versions of their belonging to an extremist organization are being investigated," he added.
Kazakhstan's government announced late Jan. 4 that it was restoring some price caps on liquefied petroleum gas after the rare protests reached Almaty following a sharp rise in the price of the fuel at the start of the year.
Many Kazakhs have converted their cars to run on LPG, which is far cheaper than gasoline as a vehicle fuel in Kazakhstan because of price caps. But the government argued that the low price was unsustainable and lifted the caps on Jan. 1.
After the price of the fuel spiked, big demonstrations erupted on Jan. 2 in certain parts of the country. Public protests are illegal in the country unless their organizers file a notice in advance. Following the development of the situation, the government declared a state of emergency all over the country.
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