A shootout is underway in Republic Square in central Almaty, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Thursday. At least 50 vehicles surrounded over 200 rioters in the city, and the military cut them off from the mayor's office and other compounds. According to the correspondent, there have been at least 10 gunshots, but it wasn't the troops who fired them.
Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the early days of 2022. The residents of Zhanaozen and Aktau opposed a two-fold increase in prices for liquefied natural gas, then unrest spread to other cities. In the nation's most populous city, Almaty, clashes with security forces occurred on 4-5 January and escalated, with a violent riot later breaking out.
A view shows a burning police car during a protest against LPG cost rise following the Kazakh authorities' decision to lift price caps on liquefied petroleum gas in Almaty, Kazakhstan January 5, 2022.
© REUTERS / PAVEL MIKHEYEV
Throughout the country, internet services were switched off, and a number of TV channels were taken off the air.
Addressing the riots, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency and asked the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) for assistance in "tackling the terrorist aggression".
On Wednesday, the organisation decided to deploy forces to Kazakhstan for a limited period of time to stabilise the situation in the country.
