AKIPRESS.COM - Kazakhstan will establish territorial troops (TT) in all regions in response to a decree issued by the country's head of state.

Under the proposed structure, the territorial defense units will consist of 16 directorates, headquartered in each of Kazakhstan's 14 provinces, as well as in the cities of Astana and Almaty, according to a draft bill presented by Deputy Minister of Defense Talgat Mukhtarov to the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, defense and security this week.

Each directorate will command a brigade-size force with a total strength of 63,000 personnel in wartime, according to Mukhtarov. The directorates will be funded at the local level by provincial authorities and in peacetime each will be permanently staffed by 15-21 personnel, including a military official and the rest draftees.