About 200 people gathered on Monday outside a regional administration building in the southwest Kazakh city of Aktau as tensions remain high after deadly clashes in the region.
The rally comes just days after the nearby oil town of Zhanaozen erupted in violence over wage cuts. At least 14 people were killed in the riots. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has set up a commission to investigate the clashes. Local media reports identified the attackers as employees of the state-controlled KazMunaiGas energy company.
The square in Aktau is cordoned off by police, but there has been no fighting, Nurdaulet Sindikov, a representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office said. The protesters are holding slogans saying “No to reprisals - we are not looters!”
Nazarbayev declared a 20-day state of emergency in Zhanaozen on Saturday and ordered an investigation into the worst violence in the former Soviet state in years.
