Kazakhstan protests: Moscow-led alliance sends ?peacekeeping forces?

"Peacekeeping forces" from a Russia-led military alliance will be sent to Kazakhstan to help the country's president regain control, it was announced on Wednesday night, as violent clashes continued after fuel price rises triggered widespread protests.

Armenia's prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, said the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) - an alliance of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan - would dispatch forces to "stabilise" the Central Asian country.

The announcement came after Kazakhstan's president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, appealed to the bloc for help, decrying the actions of "terrorists" and alleging the country had been the victim of "attacks" by foreign-trained gangs.

On Wednesday, demonstrators took over government buildings and reportedly stormed the airport in Almaty, the country's commercial capital and largest city.

The Kazakh events come at a time when all eyes have been on a possible Russian intervention in Ukraine. Images of police being overpowered by protesters are likely to cause alarm in Moscow, as another country neighbouring Russia succumbs to political unrest. Kazakhstan is part of an economic union with Russia and the two countries share a long border.

It was not clear how many troops the CSTO would send and how long they would stay in the country.

There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin, but Russian MP Leonid Kalashnikov told Interfax that the troops would stay "for as long as the president of Kazakhstan believes it necessary". He said they would mainly be engaged in protecting "infrastructure" in the country.