What began as demonstrations against the increase in the price of liquefied petroleum gas soon took a political turn and in some cities led to violence and clashes with the police.
The anti-government protests in Kazakhstan, which have continued unabated since January 2, have resulted in fatalities and hundreds of injuries among both law enforcement officers and demonstrators.
What began just after the New Year as demonstrations against rising liquefied petroleum gas prices soon took on a political turn, with demands to remove all corrupt people from power and improve the standard of living of the population.
The mass protests initially broke out in the city of Janaozen (Mangystau province), but soon spread to Aktau (capital of the same province), as well as to the capital city of Nursultan, the country's largest city Almaty, Aktobe (capital of the province of the same name), Taldykorgan (capital of Almaty province), among other cities and towns.
Deaths and injuries
The protests erupted into violence, clashes with police and looting. According to the latest information, 18 members of the Kazakh security forces have lost their lives, with two of the unifromed men decapitated, and 748 have been injured in the unrest. Meanwhile, a total of 2,298 demonstrators have been detained.
The number of deaths among protesters and looters remains unknown. Earlier, police reported dozens of deaths in Almaty on the night of January 5-6. Unofficial information, reported by Orda.kz, points to about thirty dead in the city.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Health reported more than a thousand wounded, 400 of whom were hospitalized and 62 ended up in intensive care.
Chaos in the country's largest city
This Thursday Almaty, the former capital of the nation, where an angry mob stormed the Administration building and the former presidential residence the day before, causing fires in the regional government headquarters and in the buildings of the Prosecutor's Office and the state channel Qazaqstan, continues to be the point where the moments of greatest tension are being experienced.
Images taken from inside the Akimat, as the regional government headquarters is known, show the effects of the break-in.
Wednesday was also marred by massive looting in multiple establishments in the city.
Unverified videos of the most radical participants seizing weapons from the riot squads were also disseminated on networks.
Almaty International Airport, finally liberated, was also stormed, forcing the diversion of several planes heading for its runways, the cancellation of multiple flights and dozens of passengers locked in. The demonstrators who managed to break into these facilities left them in an unrecognizable state, with broken glass all over the floor and heavy damage to many stores.
After the demonstrators burned at least 120 cars, including 33 police cars, and destroyed 120 stores, 180 restaurants and cafes and about a hundred offices, and set up checkpoints on the outskirts of the city, where they stopped military vehicles and forced troops to take off their uniforms, the security forces opened fire with live ammunition as part of an anti-terrorist operation, and by the end of the day managed to liberate Almaty's central square and the former presidential residence. The shooting took place in different cities of Kazakhstan, including Taraz and Shymkent.
Internet outages and banks closed
A state of emergency with a curfew has been in force throughout the country since Wednesday. All mass events are banned and freedom of movement within the country and between regions is restricted.
Authorities continue to block Internet access nationwide as part of their anti-terrorist operation. Banks stopped operating and suspended their financial services for the population, citing security concerns. Local residents were also unable to withdraw money from ATMs: in most cases, these were looted and did not work.
Kazakhstan requests military aid from Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
Kazakh President Kasim-Yomart Tokayev denounced to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) that the unrest represents a threat to the country's national security and sovereignty and that he perceives the events as the result of an invasion by criminal groups prepared abroad, requesting military assistance from his allies.
VIDEO: Car rammed into police cordon amid unrest in Kazakhstan.
VIDEO: Car drives into police cordon amid unrest in Kazakhstan.
The agreement on collective security of the bloc, which in addition to Kazakhstan includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, stipulates that if one of the organization's members requests support in case it faces aggression or an armed attack threatening its security, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty, the partners will offer their immediate support, including military support.
The CSTO agreed to Kazakhstan's request and announced the dispatch of peacekeeping forces to the Central Asian country to protect important government and military facilities and assist Kazakh forces in their efforts to normalize the situation. Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Tajikistan were quick to guarantee reinforcements on their side, while the Kyrgyz Parliament failed to pass the corresponding decision due to the fact that in the midst of the Christmas holidays only 39 deputies attended the session instead of the required 46.
What the Kazakh government did
The president ordered to investigate the causes of the riots and to bring to justice those responsible. In view of the tense situation in the country, the Kazakh authorities extended the vacations for school students until January 17, and until January 24 for students of universities and higher vocational schools.
This day, the Kazakh government also set by Tokayev's order on Wednesday the maximum prices for liquefied petroleum gas, whose drastic increase from 50-60 tenge (12-14 cents) to 120 tenge (28 cents) prompted the protests. For the next 180 days, the fuel will cost:
On Wednesday, members of the government resigned and former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose influence called into question whether the current president was the most important figure in the country and who also drew the ire of protesters who demanded that he step aside from power for good, stepped down for life as chairman of the National Security Council.
Flight cancellations
The airports of Aktau, Aktobe and Almaty have been closed for the past day, when protesters took control of Almaty airport. The main Russian airline Aeroflot cancelled its flights to Kazakhstan, while the national airline Air Astana cancelled all flights until January 7.
The Kazakh government has temporarily suspended the entry of foreign citizens into the territory of the country due to the state of emergency.
www.rt.com
5 Jan, 2022
www.rt.com
while a bear stands strategic and focused 
незыгарь
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