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January 7, 2022

Kazakh President Orders Troops to Shoot Without Warning as Protest Death Toll Mounts
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Kazakhstan's authoritarian President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has ordered
troops suppressing a mass uprising to "shoot without warning," rejecting
calls to hold talks with protesters, whom he called "criminals and
murderers." According to the Kazakh Interior Ministry, 44 people,
including 18 security officers, have been killed in recent violence.
President Tokayev also thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for
sending in troops. The deadly crackdown came in response to what started
as demonstrations against rising fuel prices and widened to broader
anti-government protests. On Thursday, a U.N. spokesperson called on
security forces to respect protesters' rights.

Stéphane Dujarric: "The important thing is that security forces, whether
they are Kazakh or whether they are non-Kazakh troops, need to uphold
the same human rights standards, which is to show restraint and protect
people's rights to demonstrate peacefully." 



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