Kazakhstan president vows to destroy ?bandits and terrorists? behind protests

The president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has promised an uncompromising crackdown on demonstrators in the country, telling security forces they should "use lethal force without warning" against protesters he called "bandits and terrorists".

On Friday, relative calm returned to Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city and the centre of recent tumult, and some residents ventured out for the first time in several days. They found looted shops, shattered glass and many burnt-out cars, with the grim atmosphere intensified by the thick mist enveloping the city.

Police returned to the central streets for the first time since the clashes turned violent and protesters seized government buildings. The military had sealed off a square where clashes took place earlier in the week, and gunshots rang out occasionally.

The interior ministry has said 26 protesters were killed in the clashes as well as 18 people from police and security forces. Witness reports of shootouts and casualties suggest that the real figures may be considerably higher. More than 3,800 people had been detained, the ministry said.

In a televised address on Friday, Tokayev said he had personally given the order to use lethal force in recent days, and also blamed "so-called free media outlets" for helping to fan unrest.

"Abroad there are calls for the two sides to hold negotiations for a peaceful resolution," he said. "What idiocy. What kind of negotiations can you have with criminals? We were dealing with armed and well-prepared bandits, both local and foreign. Bandits and terrorists, who should be destroyed. This will happen in the nearest time."

Promising the crackdown would continue, Tokayev said he had created a special inter-agency group to track down violent protesters. He claimed that "all demands made in a peaceful form have been heard", but appeared to dismiss a large proportion of the protesters as criminals, saying "20,000 bandits" were involved in Almaty alone. This suggested a large-scale operation could be launched to hunt down others.