‘Shoot to kill’ Kazakh leader tells forces, rejects talks

Kazakhstan's president yesterday rejected calls for talks with protesters after days of unprecedented unrest, vowing to destroy "armed bandits" and authorising his forces to shoot to kill without warning. 

He said earlier that order had mostly been restored across the country, after protests this week over fuel prices escalated into widespread violence, especially in main city Almaty.

"Terrorists continue to damage property... and use weapons against civilians. I have given the order to law enforcement to shoot to kill without warning," Tokayev said in his third televised address to the nation this week.

He ridiculed calls from abroad for negotiations as "nonsense".

Long seen as one the most stable of the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia, energy-rich Kazakhstan is facing its biggest crisis in decades.

Protesters stormed government buildings in Almaty on Wednesday and fought running battles with police and the military, with officials saying 748 security officers were wounded and 18 killed.

Tokayev said Almaty had been attacked by "20,000 bandits" with a "clear plan of attack, coordination of actions and high combat readiness."

He gave his "special thanks" to Russian President Vladimir Putin after the Moscow-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) sent troops to Kazakhstan to help quell the unrest.

It marked the alliance's first major joint action since its founding in 1999.

The interior ministry yesterday said that security forces had taken all the country's regions "under increased protection" and that 26 "armed criminals" had been killed and 18 wounded in the unrest.

Authorities declared a nationwide state of emergency until January 19, with curfews, restrictions on movements and bans on mass gatherings.

The interior ministry said Thursday it had detained about 2,300 people. Officials said more than 1,000 people had been wounded in the unrest, with nearly 400 admitted to hospital and more than 60 in intensive care.

Protests spread across the nation of 19 million this week in outrage over a New Year increase in prices for liquid petroleum gas (LPG), which is used to fuel many cars in the country.

Thousands took to the streets in Almaty and in the western province of Mangystau, saying the price rise was unfair given oil and gas exporter Kazakhstan's vast energy reserves.

The full picture of the chaos has often been unclear, with widespread disruptions to communications including mobile phone signals, the blocking of online messengers and hours-long internet shutdowns.

Western countries have called for restraint on all sides, with US State Department spokesman Ned Price warning Russian troops in Kazakhstan against taking control of the country's institutions.