Moscow (TIP): Dozens of protesters and 12 policemen died during extraordinarily violent demonstrations in Kazakhstan that saw government buildings stormed and set ablaze, authorities said on January 6. One police officer was found beheaded in escalating unrest that poses a growing challenge to authoritarian rule in the Central Asian nation. Russia sent paratroopers into Kazakhstan to help put down the countrywide uprising.

Tens of thousands of people, some reportedly carrying clubs and shields, have taken to the streets in recent days in the worst protests the country has seen since gaining independence from the Soviet Union three decades ago. Although the demonstrations began over a near-doubling of prices for a type of vehicle fuel, their size and rapid spread suggest they reflect wider discontent in the country that has been under the rule of the same party since independence. After breaking into the presidential residence and the mayor’s office in the country’s largest city on Wednesday, demonstrators continued to try to storm more buildings overnight.

“Dozens of attackers were liquidated,” police spokeswoman Saltanat Azirbek said. Twelve police officers were killed in the unrest and 353 injured, according to city officials cited by a news channel.

While the President initially seemed to try to mollify the protesters, he later promised harsh measures to quell the unrest, which he blamed on “terrorist bands”, and called on a Russia-led military alliance for help. — AP