Chaos in Kazakhstan: Mayor’s office set on fire and reports of shootings following government resignation

Fire rages at mayor’s office of its largest city Kazakhstan, Almaty, according to images posted live on Instagram by a blogger, and was heard nearby shots.

In particular, the town hall building in Almaty has been surrounded by protesters who seem to have managed to break the security perimeter set up by the order forces despite the click-flash bombs they dropped.

The explosions from the flash-bombs were heard throughout the city center, according to the APE-MPE.

Protests erupted in the western part of the former Soviet republic on Sunday due to increases in fuel prices and led to the resignation today, Wednesday (5/1) of the government of the country.

The government of Kazakhstan has resigned

Earlier, the President of Kazakhstan accepted the resignation of his government and declared a state of emergency in parts of the country, while the police announced that arrested more than 200 protesters and that nearly 100 police officers were injured in demonstrations against rising gas prices, which caused unrest in several cities in this Central Asian country.

The interior ministry said more than 200 protesters had been arrested for “disturbing public order” and that 95 police officers had been injured.

The protesters “provoked”, blocking roads and traffic, “disrupting public order”, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier in the night, the president Kasim-Jomart Tokayev accepted the resignation of the government. The Deputy Prime Minister Alihan Smailov will take over as caretaker Prime Minister until a new government is formed.

A state of emergency was also declared until January 19 in the Mangistau area, where the protests began, and in the Almaty area, where a curfew will take effect from 23:00 to 07:00 local time.

A few hours earlier, Tokayev had addressed the crowd with a video posted on Facebook, in which he called for calm to return.

“We do not need the conflict,” he said, after earlier warning protesters to refrain from any “provocation.”

❗️Statement of the Head of State Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev on the current situation in the country.

Posted by AkordaPress on Tuesday, January 4, 2022

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