The US called for an end to the shooting order to kill Kazakhstan after more than 160 people died
“We are really concerned about the state of emergency that has been declared in Kazakhstan,” said Antony Blinken
Washington:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday criticized Kazakhstan’s order to shoot and kill protesters accused of causing unrest, calling for the policy to be scrapped in the Central Asian country.
“That’s something that I completely reject. The shoot-to-kill order, as long as it exists, is wrong and should be rescinded,” the President’s top diplomat Joe Biden told ABC Sunday’s “This Week.”
“We are really concerned about the state of emergency that has been declared in Kazakhstan,” he said, adding that he spoke with Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi on Thursday.
“We have been clear that we expect the government of Kazakhstan to deal with the protesters in ways that respect their rights, while preventing violence.”
More than 160 people have died and 5,800 were arrested in Kazakhstan following riots this week in the energy-rich country of 19 million people, media reported on Sunday citing the health ministry.
The figures, though not independently verified, mark a significant increase from the previous figure as officials said that 26 “armed criminals” had been killed and 16 security personnel had been killed. died.
In a tough televised speech on Friday, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said “terrorists” at home and abroad were wreaking havoc on the country and that “I have ordered law enforcement to the law shoots and kills without warning.”
He also thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin after a military coalition led by Moscow sent troops to Kazakhstan to help quell the violence.
Blinken said Washington has “real concerns” about why Tokayev felt compelled to call on the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which neighboring Russia dominates.
“We’re asking for that clarification,” Blinken told CNN. “But what is urgent now is that all of this be resolved peacefully, respecting the rights of those who are trying to have their voices heard.”
Long considered one of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, Kazakhstan is facing its biggest crisis in decades after days of protests over soaring fuel prices and unrest across the country. widespread.
Protesters have stormed government buildings and fought with police and the army, especially in Almaty, the country’s largest city and economic hub.
The unrest has raised concerns about the instability of Kazakhstan, a major energy exporter and uranium producer.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
