A RAMPAGE by gun-toting Islamists in a provincial city has exacerbated an already tense situation in what has generally been the most tranquil of Central Asia’s five post-Soviet states. On June 5th a band of insurgents, said by officials to number 26, raided two hunting-supply shops for weapons in Aktobe, a powerhouse of the oil industry in north-western Kazakhstan, around 100km (62 miles) south of the border with Russia. They then attacked an army base. The next day, after a night of clashes, a checkpoint near the city was attacked. By the time the violence subsided, at least 18 gunmen, four civilians and three security men had been killed.
The event has badly shaken Kazakhstan, a country of 18m, most of whom are secular-minded Muslims. Official investigators have blamed home-grown Islamist extremists receiving instruction from abroad. Since April the government’s nerves have been frayed by a series of protests highlighting discontent in at least half a dozen towns across the country.
Since the Soviet Union broke up a quarter of a century ago, Kazakhstan has been ruled by Nursultan Nazarbayev, now 75, who was re-elected president...Continue reading
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