Afghan and Syrian militants planned to participate in coup in Kazakhstan in 2022

Second anniversary of the events

In early January 2022, Kazakhstan witnessed mass riots, with participants attacking police and military personnel

Astana

The organizers of the unsuccessful coup attempt in Kazakhstan in January 2022 had planned the participation of militants from Afghanistan and Syria. This information was revealed in a documentary shown on the state channel “Khabar” on the second anniversary of the events, TASS reports.

According to the film’s authors, citing data from Kazakhstan’s security forces, “several leaders of terrorist organizations from Afghanistan and Syria were planning to send their trained militants to Kazakhstan in case of continued unrest.” However, the “swift, decisive actions of the legitimate authorities in localizing and eliminating the crisis disrupted the conspirators’ plans, preventing the Syrian scenario from unfolding in Kazakhstan,” the film states.

The involvement of foreign terrorists was supposed to take place within the “fourth, final wave of events, representing an upsurge of dormant radical cells across the country,” according to the documentary.

Before this, the “directors of the unsuccessful coup attempt had planned and executed three waves of events.” Initially, peaceful protests without violent clashes were organized, followed by orchestrating a turn of the protests into a radical course with riots and arson. Finally, in the third wave, the actual perpetrators—criminals and terrorists—displayed ruthless and brutal actions, as conveyed in the film.

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on January 10, 2022, referred to the mass unrest in the country as an attempt at a state coup, indicating that it had been prepared for an extended period.

In April 2023, the former Chairman of the National Security Committee (KNB) of Kazakhstan, Karim Masimov, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for treason, violent seizure of power, and abuse of official powers. The former Deputy Chairman of the KNB and head of the Special Assignment “A” Service, Anuar Sadykulov, was also found guilty on similar charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Daulet Ergozhin, another former Deputy Chairman of the KNB, was convicted of violent seizure of power and abuse of official powers, receiving a 15-year prison sentence. Marat Osipov, the ex-Deputy Head of the KNB, was found guilty of abuse of official powers and sentenced to three years in prison with a prohibition on holding public service positions.

In early January 2022, Kazakhstan witnessed mass riots, with participants attacking police and military personnel. Tokayev sought assistance from the CSTO. The situation was stabilized by January 7, and the state of emergency was lifted nationwide on January 19. According to official figures, 238 people died, and over 4,500 were injured during these events.

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