ASHGABAT -- Turkmen authorities November 7-8 stepped up security nationwide, drawing on the efforts of troops, border guards and law enforcement, an Ashgabat source close to the National Security Ministry (MNB) leadership who requested anonymity told Caravanserai.
The security crackdown came on the order of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who visited Malaysia on those days, the source said. Such measures are "the usual practice when ... the head of state travels abroad or visits certain parts of the country", the source said.
