Soldiers Riot at Kazakhstan Space Center; 3 Fatally Burned

Hundreds of soldiers rioted at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan after complaining of “inhuman treatment” by their superiors, news services said Wednesday. Three soldiers were reported burned to death.

The rioters, soldiers assigned to construction work, commandeered 17 trucks, set fire to four barracks and stole 35,000 rubles from a cashier’s office, the Interfax news agency and Commonwealth television reported. The victims were found inside one of the charred barracks.

Police forces and other army troops were called in to try to stop the mutineers from marching on the nearby city of Leninsk, where space center officials live. But the “hungry and unwashed soldiers” reached the city to present their grievances, the TV reported. They dispersed after authorities gave them food and their allowances and met some of their demands.

A special government commission was set up. It agreed to let ill soldiers resign and to discharge six months early all soldiers who had already served 1 1/2 years. It also promised a 10-day leave for all the soldiers.

Baikonur is the main space launch site in what was formerly the Soviet Union. The TV said operations there were not affected by the uprising Monday and Tuesday.