Russia-led security group to pull out troops: Kazakh Prez

Collective Security Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) Kyrgyz soldiers stand guard at a power plant in Almaty on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

The president of Kazakhstan announced Tuesday that a Russia-led security alliance will start pulling out its troops from the country in two days after completing its mission.

The mostly Russian troops were deployed to Kazakhstan last week by the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a military alliance of six former Soviet states, at the president's request amid the worst public unrest the former Soviet nation has faced since gaining independence 30 years ago.

Protests over soaring fuel prices erupted in the oil and gas-rich Central Asian nation of 19 million on Jan 2 and quickly spread across the country. Over the next few days, the demonstrations turned extremely violent, with dozens of civilians and law enforcement officers killed. By the weekend, the unrest has been largely quelled.

"When this decision was being made, we could have completely lost control over Almaty, which was being torn apart by terrorists. Had we lost Almaty, we would have lost the capital and the entire country," President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told Kazakhstan's parliament Tuesday. He said that CSTO has largely completed its mission and will start withdrawing its troops in two days - a process that will take no longer than 10 days.

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