ASTANA (Interfax-Kazakhstan) – Over 15,000 people are to be drafted this spring in Kazakhstan, said Defence Minister in a statement, adding about 16,000 servicemen would be released this spring from the Army upon completing their military service time.

The Kazak army totals approximately 46,800 troops spread across four military districts. Males aged 18 to 27, except those who have got permission to be exempted or deferred from military service, as well as males under 27 years of age, who are expelled from educational establishments and have not served earlier in the army, must be conscripted into the army. The military draft is held in Kazakhstan twice a year in April-June and in October-December.

According to the statement, about 7,000 out of 15,000 conscripts will be sent to the Defence Ministry military units, the rest of them to the Republican Guard, to the troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to the border service of the National Security Committee as well as to the Emergency Situations Ministry.

The Ministry of the Interior (MVD) plays a leading role in response to any domestic crisis, and these forces are estimated at around 20,000. Border security is subordinated to Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee (KNB) which is the main domestic intelligence agency. The KNB Border Service is estimated at around 9,000 personnel.