Putin blames “international terrorism” for Kazakhastan unrest

Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed squarely on “international terrorism,” for Kazakhastan disturbances. He claimed  that the violence came from “well-organized and well-controlled militant groups, including those who had obviously been trained in terrorist camps abroad. At an emergency meeting of the Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization  CSTO’s Security Council on Monday. He added that Russia would never allow revolutions in the region.The Islamist threat to Central Asia has been a Russian concern for many years and has only been magnified since the chaotic U.S. retreat from Afghanistan last year. Putin said he believed some involved in the violence in recent days had been trained in foreign countries, without giving evidence."Well organised and clearly managed groups of militants were used, including those who obviously underwent training in terrorist camps abroad,"  Putin told other leaders on the video conference.

Meanwhile, following a ferocious crackdown by security forces, with at least 164 dead and almost 6,000 arrested, the former Soviet republic is now firmly under control of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the hand-picked successor of longtime leader Nazarbayev, and the immediate danger has apparently receded. The upheaval left the downtown of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, almost in ruins. Well-armed gangs reportedly fought pitched street battles with police, while mobs ransacked shops and public buildings. As per reports, that no movement has claimed responsibility for the uprising, and no set of unified demands or discernible leaders have emerged from the turmoil.