ISTANBUL: Turkey's flag-carrier Turkish Airlines said on Friday it was cancelling all flights to Kazakhstan until Jan. 9 due to "negative developments" in the former Soviet nation, after days of violence in the country.

Security forces appeared to have reclaimed the streets of Kazakhstan's main city on Friday, while the country's Russian-backed president said he had ordered his troops to shoot-to-kill to put down a countrywide uprising.

Russia-led troops sent to Kazakhstan

In a statement, Turkish Airlines said its flight personnel in Almaty would be flown back to Istanbul on Saturday, while other evacuation measures for the personnel in the capital Nur-Sultan were being evaluating.