The group was categorized as extremist in 2018 by Kazakhstan’s security department and its activities have been prohibited throughout the country.
Protests erupted in several Kazakh cities on January 2, escalating into mass riots with government buildings getting ransacked in several cities, primarily in Almaty, a few days later. The ensuing violence left thousands of demonstrators injured, with fatalities also being reported.
Subsequently, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization requesting assistance from the Russia-led bloc. As a result, peacekeepers were deployed to Kazakhstan. Law and order, Kazakh authorities affirm, was restored to all of the country’s regions.
At least 225 people were killed in unrest, the prosecutor general’s office has announced.
