The aftermath of the disturbances in the town of Masanchi. Photo by Bagdat Asylbek, Fergana
25 people accused of taking part in last month’s lethal mass disturbances in Kazakhstan’s Korday district were arrested in a special operation yesterday (27 March), Tengrinews.kz reports the country’s deputy prosecutor general Yerlik Kenebayev as announcing (in Russian).
“Today a special operation was carried out in the Jambyl region, in Almaty and in Shymkent to arrest those who took an active part in the mass disturbances. As a result of the operation, 25 individuals, including Kazakh nationals, Dungans and Kyrgyz have been arrested. Seven of those arrested have previous convictions. Investigations are ongoing,” Kenebayev said.
Earlier in March, the state prosecutor’s office announced that five people had been arrested in connection with the violence – two for public order offences, assault and failure to comply with police orders, and the others on charges of arson. Murder investigations were said to be ongoing.
The mass disturbances in the Korday district of Kazakhstan’s southern Jambyl region – in an area with a large population of the country’s Dungan ethnic minority – began on the afternoon of 7 February. 11 people died in the violence and dozens were injured.
During a visit to the Korday district on 1 March, head of state Kassym-Jomat Tokayev stated that the cause of the disturbances had been a conflict between two criminal groups.
