Kyrgyzstan to Get Rid of Armed Forces
- Share via
WASHINGTON — Kyrgyzstan, alone among the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, is going to disband its armed forces, the president of the former Soviet republic said Friday.
“In the last year and a half, we have cut (the military) in half, and in the next three to five years we will disband it entirely. And we will have only a National Guard whose functions will be the same as the National Guard in your states,” President Askar Akayev said.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies in London put the total of troops in Kyrgyzstan last year at 8,000.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
