Following the death of 14 soldiers in an exercise: Kazakhstan's president fires defense minister

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev fired Defense Minister Dauren Kosanov days after a naval exercise disaster that killed 14 soldiers. The accident occurred last Thursday off the Caspian Sea coast when 17 soldiers were swept into the sea due to a sudden deterioration in weather conditions. Three were rescued alive. Five senior defense ministry officials were arrested, including the first deputy commander of the navy.

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev fired Defense Minister Dauren Kosanov following a military naval exercise disaster that killed 14 soldiers. The accident occurred last Thursday in the Mangystau region of western Kazakhstan, off the Caspian Sea coast. During the exercise, there was a sudden deterioration in weather conditions, and 17 soldiers were swept into the sea. Three soldiers were rescued alive, and 14 were killed. Tokayev signed a presidential decree dismissing Kosanov, and in another decree appointed Aidus Mirzakhmetov, who previously served as commander of special operations forces, in his place. The incident also led to an investigation against senior security officials. On Friday, the country's interior ministry announced that five defense ministry officials were arrested, including the first deputy commander of the navy. The report is based on the website 'Asharq Al-Awsat'.