The Kazakh public is extremely concerned about the recent increase in deaths of military personnel. In September alone, several tragic incidents occurred.
The editorial team of FBRK became interested in how many people have died in recent years, 'paying their debt to the Motherland' in peacetime. In this regard, we sent an official request to the Ministry of Defence asking them to provide data on the number of deaths in the Armed Forces (AF) of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
According to the department, in 90% of cases, the deaths of military personnel are not related to military service. Furthermore, the ministry stated that in 2021-2023, the mortality rate among military personnel decreased by 19%.
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Defence only provided us with mortality figures for conscript soldiers. According to official data, 5 conscript soldiers (see photo) died this year.
For comparison, in 2023 in Kazakhstan, 8 conscript military personnel died from various causes, in 2022 – 1 person, in 2021 – 5. Thus, in 2021-2023, 14 conscript soldiers died.
The main causes of death recorded over the three years are suicides (6 cases), illnesses (3 cases), hazing (2 cases), violations of safety measures (2 cases), and food poisoning (1 case).
Notably, earlier the publication 'Buzyq' requested from the Ministry of Defence statistics on deaths in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan in recent years, including the causes of death of military personnel. However, the department refused to provide the data, stating that the 'information would negatively affect the upcoming autumn conscription campaign'.
Meanwhile, the media reported that according to the military prosecutor's office, in the period from 2020 to 2023, 270 people died in the country's armed forces. At the same time, 20 suicide attempts were recorded, and 86 military personnel took their own lives.
It is difficult not to notice that these figures differ significantly from those provided by the department to the FBRK editorial team. However, the other day, the Ministry of Defence explained that the statistic of 270 people is the total figure for all military and security forces of the army.
These include both the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the National Guard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Border Service of the National Security Committee, Special Forces units, and military units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
The Ministry of Defence noted that the 270 tragic cases relate not only to conscript soldiers. This number also includes officers, contract servicemen, and others. Additionally, the department noted that some deaths occurred outside of service hours.
The Ministry of Defence regularly states that measures are being taken aimed at reducing the number of tragic incidents and deaths during military service. However, so far these efforts have not been able to reverse the discouraging statistics.
Let us recall that on September 7th, in a military unit in Aktau, a conscript soldier died as a result of a gunshot to the head. On September 13th, at the Military Institute of the Ground Forces in Almaty, a sergeant committed suicide.
On September 16th, in Aris, a contract serviceman from one of the military units suffered a head injury from a traumatic weapon. On September 19th, an officer from one of the military units of the Ayagoz garrison committed suicide by hanging.
Not long ago, the Minister of Defence, Ruslan Zhaksylykov, criticised his subordinates for the increasing number of tragic incidents in the ranks of the Kazakh army. And concerned citizens of Kazakhstan created a petition for the abolition of compulsory military service.
However, it is unlikely that a hypothetical abolition would solve the current problems. Perhaps the authorities still need to focus on reforms aimed at eliminating the disorder and unacceptable measures which, unfortunately, exist within the armed forces.