A Moscow-led military alliance said Thursday it had sent its first troops to Kazakhstan after its government requested help to quell mounting unrest.

"Peacekeeping forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation were sent to the Republic of Kazakhstan for a limited time to stabilise and normalise the situation," the CSTO secretariat said in a statement posted by Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

It said the deployment included units of the armed forces of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, the five other members with Kazakhstan of the Moscow-dominated CSTO.

The statement did not specify how many troops were being sent but said the Russian contingent included members of the country's Airborne Forces.

The troops' main tasks "will be the protection of important state and military facilities and assistance to the forces of law and order... in stabilising the situation," the statement said.

It said Russian forces were being transferred by military aircraft to Kazakhstan and that advance units had "already begun to fulfil the assigned tasks."

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

New chief calls for modernisation of China region beset by rights fears
Beijing (AFP) Dec 29, 2021
The new party chief in China's Xinjiang called for improved business conditions in his first official visit to the region, where forced labour accusations have prompted some countries to announce a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics. After overseeing the key manufacturing hub of Guangdong, new top Communist Party official Ma Xingrui replaces soldier turned politician Chen Quanguo, who led periods of harsh repression in the border regions of Xinjiang and Tibet. Campaigners ... read more