Lebedev: Those involved in violent unrest were foreign-backed

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The perpetrators of the riots in Kazakhstan had planned the rallies ahead of time and had foreign backing, according to Sergey Lebedev, chairman of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Executive Committee.

Protests against a hike in fuel prices turned violent in Kazakhstan. 

Simultaneously, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev requested help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which agreed to send a peacekeeping mission to Kazakhstan.

"It is obvious today that the destructive elements, the bandits were preparing for mass rallies in advance to destabilize the country and had foreign support," Lebedev said, according to the committee's website.

Furthermore, the official stressed that Kazakh authorities made "timely and reasonable" decisions on stabilizing the situation.

"Those measures were supported not only by the CSTO but by other members of the Commonwealth," Lebedev added.

The CIS believes that the situation in Almaty, Kazakhstan, will return to normal in the next weeks, allowing CIS events to be held there, according to Lebedev.

It is worth mentioning that Kazakhstan is chairing the Commonwealth of the Independent States this year, which includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Here's what you need to know

Kazakhstan on Friday imposed a countrywide "critical red" of the terrorism threat level, local news outlets reported, meaning the government sees that the terrorism threat is severe in the country.

The severity of the threat means the government is fully mobilizing all its forces and special forces, who, in turn, will be able to search civilians and vehicles at will, in addition to restricting and directing their movement and accessing information transmitted via various telecommunication channels.

'Foreign-trained terrorists'

As the intensity and violence of demonstrations escalated, President Tokayev appealed to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for help in quelling protests across the country that he said were led by "terrorist gangs."

"Today I appealed to the heads of CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) states to assist Kazakhstan in overcoming this terrorist threat," Tokayev said on state television early Thursday. 

The president accused the attackers of receiving training abroad and being foreign agents.