The death of 14 servicemen in Kazakhstan led to the resignation of the Minister of Defense

Author, News Department

Place of work, BBC Russian Service

Published 3 minutes ago

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The death of 14 military personnel during an exercise in Kazakhstan led to a change in the country's defense minister. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev criticized the military leadership for organizing the exercises and said that both the military leaders who prepared them and the entire military department as a whole would be checked.

On September 24, in the Mangistau region in southwestern Kazakhstan, 17 servicemen found themselves in the water while unloading from a landing ship in the Caspian Sea in stormy weather.

It was reported that they were swept out to sea while they were practicing a maneuver to unload from a landing ship at a meter depth in the Caspian Sea in stormy weather.

Only three were saved.

According to Tokayev, the military did not have life jackets. Most of the dead were ordinary conscript sailors, aged from 18 to 23 years.

On Sunday, President Tokayev dismissed Defense Minister Dauren Kosanov by decree. He also convened a meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, at which he introduced the new leader. This was Aidos Myrzakhmetov, who previously led the special forces.

Kosanov spent a year and three months as defense minister. This time was marked by several emergencies with the death of military personnel and scandals with attempted suicide of conscripts in military units.

This did not prevent Tokayev from reappointing Kosanov to the post of minister during the formation of the new government of Kazakhstan in September.

“Long-standing problems in the army are not resolved by the leadership from year to year, which undermines the country’s defense capability. No lessons have been learned from past tragedies. Who developed and approved the concept of these teachings? What is the role and coordination on the part of the General Staff? Why was the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy not present at the exercise? Irresponsibility, negligence, window dressing have become common place,” the Kazakh Telegraph Agency quotes Tokayev.

Investigation and arrests

On Friday it became known that officials of the country's Ministry of Defense were detained in connection with the death of military personnel. A criminal case was launched under articles of negligence in service, resulting in grave consequences and violation of navigation rules.

“On suspicion of committing criminal offenses related to negligent attitude to service and violation of navigation rules, leading to grave consequences, responsible officials of the highest and senior command staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan were detained,” the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs stated.

Among those detained are the first deputy commander-in-chief of the Navy, two commanders of military units, as well as commanders of a marine company and a boat.

Tokayev announced that the activities of the Ministry of Defense will be subjected to a comprehensive audit, led by an official from the National Security Council.

In addition to criticism over the training tragedy, the president used Sunday's meeting to announce military reform that he said would bring the nation's military into line with realities.

“Our army has frozen in the last century […] The goal of the reform is to form an army of a new type,” Tokayev said.

The President said that a plan for such a reform should be prepared in 10 days and will be considered at a meeting of the Security Council in the second half of October.