State mourning is declared in Kazakhstan – SME.sk

NOUR-SULTAN. According to the local security committee, the situation in Kazakhstan is under control and stabilized. Barricades began to break out in Almaty’s largest city, which was the site of unrest and anti-government demonstrations last week.

The interior ministry announced today that 7,939 people had been arrested in the protests. According to unofficial data from previous days, more than 160 people lost their lives.

The riots began at the beginning of the year due to a sharp rise in liquefied gas, which affected many motorists.

The worst wave of violence in Kazakhstan

The Security Committee said in a statement today that “outbreaks of terrorist threats” had been neutralized and the situation was under control.

Reuters reports about last week’s events as the “worst wave of violence” in Kazakhstan. The initially peaceful protest against the rise has escalated into violence.

Last week, people in some cities seized government buildings and set them on fire. Authorities in Kazakhstan speak of “extremists and terrorists”, including foreigners.

“I think it was a conspiracy involving domestic and certainly foreign destructive forces,” Secretary of State Jerlan Karin said in a televised interview on Monday without naming anyone.

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They declared state mourning

Former prime minister and counterintelligence chief Karim Masimov is among those arrested. President Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev dissolved the government last week and allowed police and the army to shoot at protesters.

Russian and local media reported on Sunday that 164 people had lost their lives. However, neither the police nor the Ministry of Health confirmed this information. The deaths of 16 members of the security forces have been confirmed.

Barricade dismantling has begun on the streets of Almaty, according to today’s TASS report, and national flags are being launched at half-mast. State mourning has been declared in the country today.

Over the weekend, Russian army planes transported about 1,500 Russians from Almaty to Russia, who wished to leave Kazakhstan.