Utter chaos, state of emergency declared: Incursions, shooting resounds VIDEO / PHOTO

Utter chaos, state of emergency declared: Incursions, shooting resounds VIDEO / PHOTO

Mass protests were organized across Kazakhstan due to the increase in the price of gas, which caused dissatisfaction among the general population. This provoked large demonstrations, followed by the clashes between protesters and police. The clashes were fierce, so the police had to use shock bombs and tear gas on several occasions.

The fact that over 190 people were injured during the demonstrations, 137 of them police officers, speaks volumes about how much the situation got out of control. Over 200 people were arrested.

Protesters stormed a government building in the Kazakh capital. Protests against rising energy prices in Kazakhstan are escalating, and the crowd stormed the mayor's office in Almaty.

Protesters armed with batons and metal bars broke into the office of the mayor of Almaty, reports the local information portal Zakon.kz, and videos posted on social networks show a crowd of citizens gathering in front of a building surrounded by smoke from shock grenade explosions.

The city authorities claim that the situation in the city is under control and that operations to identify and bring those responsible for the riots are underway, but in the meantime, photos and videos of mass protests in the city have appeared on social networks.

The government resigned

Due to the situation, a state of emergency was declared, and due to the crisis, President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, accepted the resignation of the government today.

These demonstrations have shaken Kazakhstan's image as a politically stable and tightly controlled country, which has managed to attract hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign investment in its oil and metal industry during the three decades of independence.

Order to re-establish control

In talks with acting members of the interim cabinet, Tokayev ordered both them and provincial governors to re-establish control over the price of liquefied gas (LPG) and a wide range of gasoline, diesel and other "important" consumer goods.

He also ordered the government to draft a law on personal bankruptcy and consider freezing utility prices and subsidizing rents for poor families. Tokayev said that the situation is improving in the cities and places where demonstrations were organized, since a state of emergency was declared, which included curfew and restriction of movement.

The protests began on Sunday in the province of Mangystau, which produces oil in western Kazakhstan, after the repeal of regulations that limited the price of liquefied petroleum gas, a popular fuel for cars, after which the price of fuel increased by more than 100 percent.

Fire In the mayor's office

A fire is spreading from the office of the mayor of Kazakhstan's largest city, Almaty, where protesters stormed today, and shots were heard nearby, Reuters reports, citing a live stream on the Instagram account of a Kazakh blogger.

The building was surrounded by protesters who apparently broke through police cordons, although police fired shock bombs at them.

Fierce clashes that erupted during last night's protests continued today, and 190 people were injured in the clashes, of which 137 were police officers. After the government resigned and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev imposed a state of emergency, protesters in Almaty today continued to clash with police who began using special means, tear gas and shock bombs, Interfax reported. Thousands took part in the protests, and in the western province of Mangystau, where dozens were killed in protests in 2011 after firing oil workers, protesters demanded that the price of LPG be reduced from $ 0.27 per liter to the selling price of last year, which was $ 0.11.

Shortly afterwards, Kazakh President Kassym Jomart Tokayev called on those gathered at the protests not to follow the calls of "destructive individuals" who seek to undermine the unity of society, but also announced that the government would reduce the price of liquefied petroleum gas.

Tokayev then declared a two-week state of emergency in the largest city in the country, Almaty, and in the southwestern province of Mangystau, the media office of the presidential administration announced, TASS reported.