Photo courtesy of Kazakhstan Ministry of DefenseNerushimoe bratstvo-2012 (Ironclad Brotherhood-2012), the first peace-making training of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), has kicked off in Kazakhstan on October 8, Tengrinews.kz reports citing a Russia’s Ministry of Defense representative. The maneuvers will continue until October 17 and will be held at Iliyskiy, Shoshkala and Bereg training ranges.
“More than one thousand Russian, Armenian, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan military men from motorized infantry, air assault and mountain troops will participate at the maneuvers,” the Ministry’s of Defense official said.
According to him, about 70 transport vehicles and 35 armored vehicles, four Mi-17 (Mi-8) helicopters will be involved in the maneuvers. A joint command staff will be formed at the first stage and then the military men will be working on practical peace-making tasks.
According to Kazakhstan's Ministry of Defense, the military men will fulfill a range of training tasks as part of the peace-making mission in a tentative CSTO country. “According to the scenario, the maneuvers are taking place amid a crisis triggered by activities of international extremist and terrorist organizations and conflicts among different ethnic groups living in one of the CSTO countries,” the press-release reads.
