Covid-19: Kazakh military ramps up efforts to stem spread of coronavirus

Kazakhstan is ramping up the involvement of its military in the fight against the outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus in the Central Asian country.

In a 31 March statement the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in Nur-Sultan said the Kazakh military is now “intensively involved in the maintenance of the state of emergency” in the country, adding that approximately 1,000 troops are being deployed to “disinfect facilities, man roadblocks, and carry out patrols” in Almaty – the country’s largest city – alone.

On 19 March the Kazakh military also began setting up roadblocks in the streets leading in and out of both Nur-Sultan and Almaty. To increase the effectiveness of these roadblocks, “the servicemen have begun using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to prevent any unauthorised crossings”, said the MoD in a separate statement.

In this context photographs released by the ministry on 31 March reveal that the Kazakh military has been using the Elbit Systems Skylark mini unmanned aircraft system to monitor the roads.

Kazakh troops alongside BTR-82A armoured personnel carriers and truck-mounted ARS-14KZ decontamination units ahead of a mission to help stem the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in their country. (Kazakh MoD)

Moreover, Kazakh chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) protection units have been ordered to begin disinfecting nine large cities, including Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Shymkent, Aktau, Aktobe, Atyrau, Karaganda, Kyzylorda, and Taraz, said the ministry, adding that it is also ready to dispatch military doctors to civilian hospitals to provide additional support in the fight against the coronavirus.

The move comes as Kazakhstan evacuated its citizens from Saudi Arabia (33 people), Kuwait (2), Kyrgyzstan (21), and Tajikistan (23) in late March.