BY
MALIKA ORAZGALIYEVA
ASTANA –
According to information released June 7 by the Kazakh Ministry of Internal
Affairs, 13 suspects connected to the June 5 shootings in Aktobe have been
killed as they were being chased down by the security services, eight have been
arrested and security forces are searching for seven suspects.
No
additional incidents occurred in Aktobe overnight, public transportation has
resumed and many shops have reopened, said Ministry of Internal Affairs
spokesperson Almas Sadubayev. Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee is
maintaining a red-level terrorist alert in Aktobe and yellow-level across much
of the rest of the country.
“In
general, the situation in the city, as well as the whole country is stable and
under control. The law-enforcement agencies of Kazakhstan are in emergency
mode,” said Sadubayev.
The June 5
attacks on a National Guard station and two weapons shops in the western Kazakh
city killed three Kazakh soldiers and four civilians. Authorities have said
they believe the attacks were motivated by religious extremism.
Statements
of support for Kazakhstan and condemnation of the attacks have been coming in
on this day too.
“Violent
attacks on June 5 in the city of Aktobe in Kazakhstan caused several
casualties. The European Union extends its sincere condolences to the families
of the victims and wishes a prompt recovery to the wounded,” Maja Kocijančič,
spokesperson for the European External Action Service said in a June 7
statement. “The European Union will continue to work with Kazakhstan and the
other countries of Central Asia in addressing security threats and challenges
together, and in preventing the spread of violent extremism. The EU
condemns radicalism and extremism in all its forms and reiterates that
fundamental freedoms of all citizens must be guaranteed in the pursuit of
security and counter-terrorism operations.”
“China
expresses condolences to victims of the Aktobe shootout and sympathy for the
victims’ families and the wounded,” Hong Lei, Chinese foreign ministry
spokesman, said at a regular briefing on June 7. “China opposes terrorism of
any description and supports the Kazakh government in its fight against
terrorism and in maintaining domestic stability. We would like to strengthen
cooperation with Kazakhstan in the fight against terrorism and in safeguarding
regional peace and security.”
Meanwhile,
Kazakhstan is now morning its dead.
In the
Talgar district of Almaty, government authorities held a funeral for Major
Daniel Mailybayev of the Unit 6655 who was killed during the attack on his
unit. Mailybayev was married with four small children, the youngest being 8
months old and the oldest 15 years old. The officer’s family will receive five
million tenge (US$14,988) and an apartment as compensation, said Nur-Otan party
member Meiramgul Yermaganbetova, tengrinews.kz reported.
First
Deputy Chairman of the Nur Otan Party Mukhtar Kul-Mukhammed and Akim (Governor)
of the Aktobe region Berdybek Saparbayev have also visited the families of
Nikolai Onishchenko, a 68-year-old pensioner who was passing by one of the guns
shops, and Mikhail Matrosov, another passer-by who was killed near the weapons
shop and who was 35. Onishchenko did not leave one day to turn 69, while
Matrosov is survived by his widow and a 13-year-old son. Kul-Mukhammed and Saparbayev
expressed condolences on behalf of President Nursultan Nazarbayev and assured
the families that they will receive support and that the attackers will be
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Saparbayev
also visited the family of Andrei Maximenko, a 44-year-old shop assistant at
Pallada weapons shop who was the first of the seven people known to have been
killed in the June 5 rampage. Saparbayev, too, promised
assistance to his widow.
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