Russia sends troops to Kazakhstan

GBNEWS24DESK//

Security forces in Kazakhstan say they’ve killed dozens of protesters in the country’s largest city Almaty. Russia has sent paratroopers to help combat anti-government demonstrations in the former Soviet nation.

State media in Kazakhstan said 13 officers had been killed in the violence and more than 350 injured, CGTN reports.

In recent days, the protests, which were triggered by a rise in fuel prices, have spread to major cities including the capital Nursultan and morphed into a wider movement against President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

His government has resigned in response to the protests, during which more than 1,000 people have been injured, according to Kazakhstan’s health ministry.

The doubling of the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was the catalyst for thousands to take to the streets. But there’s also wider anger at Tokayev’s predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled the nation for nearly 30 years after the fall of the Soviet Union.