Turkey's flag carrier to evacuate personnel from Kazakhstan

Ankara, Jan 8 (IANS) Turkish Airlines will evacuate 75 flight personnel from Kazakhstan's Almaty city amid the ongoing unrest, the flag carrier announced.The carrier said in a statement that a special flight would bring the flight attendants and employees of other Turkish airline companies stuck in Almaty to Istanbul, reports Xinhua news agency."A Turkish Airlines plane will take off Istanbul tonight after getting the necessary permissions" and is expected to arrive with the crews onboard on Saturday afternoon, it noted.Meanwhile, the flag carrier has also been evaluating all the evacuation opportunities for the carrier's six flight attendants who have been currently in Kazakhstan's capital Nur-Sultan, according to the statement.Following the adverse developments in Kazakhstan, Turkish Airlines cancelled its flights to the country until January 9.Kazakhstan has been witnessing massive unrest sparked on January 2 by dissatisfaction with surging fuel prices.The unrest escalated on Wednesday, with protesters storming the main government building in Almaty, setting police vehicles on fire, and attacking the regional branch of the ruling Nur Otan party.Till date, 12 law enforcement officers have been killed and more than 1,000 people were injured across Kazakhstan with almost 400 of them hospitalised as a result of the violent protests.The Interior Ministry has claimed that 2,298 protesters have also been detained.The mounting unrest prompted the Kazakh government to seek help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which has decided to deploy peacekeeping forces to the country.
--IANS ksk/

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