Kazakh President Replaces 2 Deputy Heads of National Security Committee

• 

According to a presidential decree published by his press department on Sunday, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev replaced two deputy chairs of the country's National Security Committee.

Marat Osipov and Daulet Ergozhin, the country's deputy security committee chairs, have been stripped of their posts. The presidential proclamation named Bakytbek Koszhanov and Askar Amerkhanov as new deputy leaders.

Previously, Karim Masimov, the former head of the National Security Committee, was detained on treason allegations. Masimov and unnamed others were the subject of a pre-trial probe launched on Thursday after Kazakhstan was rocked by violent protests, according to the committee.

Rioters attempted to kill Almaty mayor: Deputy

Deputy Mayor of Almaty Yerzhan Babakumarov stated on Sunday that Bakytzhan Sagintayev, the mayor of Kazakhstan's Almaty, came under fire during the disturbances on January 5.

Babakumarov announced in a statement, published on Telegram, "Bakytzhan Sagintayev came under fire from terrorists in Almaty, rioters tried to kill him."

Russian FM: CSTO allies worked in sync at critical moment for Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan requested assistance from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) at a critical moment and received a well-coordinated and timely response, according to Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

Zakharova said on the Russian Rossiya 1 television station, that the CSTO states responded quickly and unanimously, "At a critical moment ... the President of Kazakhstan used legitimate procedures."

Russia peacekeepers begin emergency drills near Almaty

The Russian peacekeeping troops, part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) deployment to protest-torn Kazakhstan, conducted emergency prevention drills at an airport near Almaty on Sunday, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

According to the Ministry, "Russia's CSTO peacekeeping units are conducting exercises at the Almaty airfield to train emergency prevention."

The Ministry stated that CSTO peacekeepers will continue to be airlifted to Almaty and Zhetygen airports near the former Kazakh capital. CSTO troops have been stationed around the nation to protect crucial infrastructure.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Interior announced on Sunday that more than 5,100 people were arrested during the recent riots in the country.

According to the statement "to date, 5,135 people have been arrested throughout Kazakhstan."

CSTO peacekeepers guard strategic assets

The Kazakh Presidency said on Sunday that peacekeepers from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance of six post-Soviet states, are guarding key assets in protest-hit Kazakhstan.

"A joint contingent of CSTO peacekeepers was put on guard duty at several strategic facilities," the President's office said in a statement.

The Kazakh military police announced that Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, was "under full control" of national security forces early on Sunday and denied media reports about an incoming incursion by the Taliban.