More than 5,000 people have been arrested in Kazakhstan in riots that have rocked the country for days, Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry said this morning.
The largest wave of protests in years in this Central Asian country was sparked by the outrage of the people for significant increases in fuel prices at gas stations. However, this later spread to violent demonstrations against the government.
The interior ministry said a total of 5,135 people had been arrested. Judicial authorities have launched investigations into various offenses.
More than 100 shopping malls, bank buildings and about 400 vehicles – mostly police – were destroyed, Interior Minister Erlan Turgubayev said in a statement on Khabar 24.
In the midst of a harsh response to the protesters, the authorities are meanwhile trying to restore a sense of normalcy.
The Ministry of Commerce announced that the supply of remote areas with basic food items was secured, the Russian news agency TASS reported. The Ministry of Energy, for its part, noted that the supply of fuel and liquefied gas has begun.
A total of 16 members of the security forces were killed in the riots, while about 1,300 police officers, soldiers and other members of the security forces were injured in the clashes, according to the interior ministry.
Authorities said yesterday that more than 40 people had been killed in the riots – including members of the security forces.
Kazakhstan’s President Qasim-Yomart Tokayev on Friday ordered security forces to fire on rioters without warning.
The order sparked fears that there could be heavy casualties among civilians, especially in the country’s largest city and financial capital, Almaty, where government buildings were set on fire and mass looted during protests.
Following the protests, Tokayev accepted the resignation of the government and dismissed high-ranking members of the Security Council, declaring a state of emergency and seeking help from a Russian-led military alliance.
Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic bordering Russia and China, is rich in oil and gas and has a population of more than 18 million.
Source: AMPE
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Source From: Capital
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