Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev says he has authorized security forces to "shoot without warning" amid a violent crackdown on protests there.
Tokayev also announced that "20,000 bandits" had attacked the city of Almaty, the epicenter of protests sparked by fuel price hikes, the BBC reports. He blamed foreign-trained "terrorists", without providing evidence.
Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry says 26 "armed criminals" and 18 security officers have been killed so far in the unrest.
In a televised address, President Tokayev said that peacekeeping forces sent by Russia and neighboring states had arrived at his request and were deployed on a temporary basis to ensure security.
On Friday morning, the Kazakh leader said that constitutional order has been established in many of the country's regions.
"Law enforcement agencies are working hard. Constitutional order has been largely restored in all regions," the head of state said in a statement, adding that operations to restore law and order will continue "until the militants are completely destroyed," he said.
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The force from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is said to have about 2,500 soldiers. Tokayev gave "special thanks" to Russian President Vladimir Putin for sending the troops.
