Kazakh President terms protesters of Almaty as 'Terrorist Gangs', seeks help from Russia-led security bloc

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has described those involved in Almaty civil unrest as "terrorist gangs" during a meeting broadcast by state television, Sputnik news agency has reported.

According to Tokayev, "gangs" seized control over large objects, including planes. The President also called the protests in the country an act of aggression and an attack on citizens' safety.

"The terrorist gangs are, in essence, international, they went through serious training abroad and their attack on Kazakhstan can and should be considered an act of aggression," Sputnik reported quoting Tokayev, as broadcast by Khabar 24.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev added that he had reached out to the leaders of member-states of the Collective Security Treaty Orgzation (CSTO) asking for assistance in tackling terrorist aggression in the republic.

"Terrorist gangs are international, they have underwent extensive training abroad and their attack on Kazakhstan can and should be viewed as an act of aggression. ... In this regard and relying on the Collective Security Treaty, today I reached out to the heads of the CSTO member-states to assist Kazakhstan in overcoming this terrorist threat," Tokayev said as quoted by Sputnik.

Nation-wide protests continued in Kazakhstan for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday as thousands of people flooded streets against soaring liquefied petroleum gas prices, forcing the Central Asian country's cabinet to resign, media reports said.

In the wake of the widepspread agitations, the government had imposed an emergency but protesters turned violent and stormed government buildings and captured police vehicles.The government attempted to concede their demands including dismissing the cabinet and announcing the possible dissolution of Parliament, which would result in new elections, reported The New York Times.

Notably, Kazakhstan's is witnessing a nationwide internet blackout as the country's largest telecommunication company Kazakhtelecom shut off internet access on Wednesday afternoon.

However, the internet resumed operation on midnight after being shut down for over seven hours, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Wednesday.

Anger among the protesters filled to a new high on Sunday as Kazakhs opposed the government lifting of price caps for LPG which doubled the cost of the fuel.

The massive jump in the price infuriated Kazakhs as the country is an exporter of oil and natural gases.

( With inputs from ANI )

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