KAZAKHSTAN today appointed a new interior minister after deadly clashes last month that were quelled with the help of foreign troops. 

More than 200 people died after peaceful protests against a rise in gas prices descended into violence, leading President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to call in more than 2,000 Russia-led troops to re-establish control. 

The crisis claimed the scalps of a powerful national security chief allied to former head of state Nursultan Nazarbayev as well as the defence minister, both of whom were arrested after their dismissals. 

Yerlan Turgumbayev, who was appointed interior minister in 2019 before Nazarbayev stepped down, was dismissed today, according to an order published on the presidential website. 

He was replaced by former anti-corruption chief Marat Akhmetzhanov.  

Kazakhstan has advanced a terror narrative for the January violence. 

The crisis drew the curtain on the influence of veteran leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, who catapulted his protege Tokayev to power but pulled the strings prior to the rare nationwide protests. 

Nazarbayev, 81, appeared in public nearly two weeks after the violence peaked, to deny a rift with Tokayev. 

Nazarbayev’s eldest daughter has relinquished her parliament seat, election authorities confirmed today. – AFP, February 25, 2022.