BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7
Trend:
Shooting continues near the area of Republic Square in Kazakhstan’s Almaty city, Trend reports via TASS.
Several cars were reported to have bullet holes, with at least two dead bodies inside of them.
The main events are taking place in the Republic Square, while in other parts of the city, it’s relatively calm, as shooting is rare.
TASS reporter in Kazakhstan said many instigators of the riots move around Almaty in cars without numbers.
Earlier this information was reported by the commandant's office of the city, which also said that the residents are required to have documents. The toughest sanctions of the state of emergency will be applied to car owners and vehicles without state numbers.
Kazakhstan's government announced late Jan. 4 that it was restoring some price caps on liquefied petroleum gas after the rare protests reached Almaty following a sharp rise in the price of the fuel at the start of the year.
Many Kazakhs have converted their cars to run on LPG, which is far cheaper than gasoline as a vehicle fuel in Kazakhstan because of price caps. But the government argued that the low price was unsustainable and lifted the caps on Jan. 1.
After the price of the fuel spiked, big demonstrations erupted on Jan. 2 in certain parts of the country. Public protests are illegal in the country unless their organizers file a notice in advance. Following the development of the situation, the government declared a state of emergency all over the country.