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.
