RFE/RL's Kazakh Service has been blocked in Kazakhstan after reporting on a video showing Kazakh militants calling for others to join the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria. Radio Azattyq said on March 5 that the "Latest News" sections of both its Kazakh- and Russian-language sites were blocked on March 4 soon after the report on the video was published.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: We are blocked in Kazakhstan after reporting on Kazakh IS video
The signs of the increased crackdown come amid ever-growing fears in Kazakhstan and elsewhere in Central Asia about the threat posed by the IS group to domestic security, as well as a sense that Astana does not want to broadcast the fact that Kazakh nationals are present, or even prolific, in the militant group.
