Kazakh president appeals for help from Russia-led security bloc

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said he had appealed to a Russia-led security bloc to assist Kazakhstan in overcoming what he called a "terrorist threat". Tokayev made a second televised speech in the space of a few hours as the Central Asian republic faces the worst unrest in more than a decade, initially triggered by a fuel price rise.

He said he had appealed to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.