BAKU, Azerbaijan, Mar. 14
Trend:
More than 1,500 state and commercial buildings were damaged during the January 2022 riots in Kazakhstan, the country's Prosecutor General Berik Asylov said, Trend reports.
According to Asylov, 765 vehicles, including fire trucks, ambulances, police and civilian vehicles, were burned.
The prosecutor general added that multibillion-dollar damage was caused to the citizens, businesses and the state, while the ultimate goal of the actions was the forced seizure of power.
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. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the government initiated anti-terrorist operations to deal with the ongoing riots.
Also, the divisions of the united peacekeeping contingent of CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) arrived in Kazakhstan to assist in restoring order and help protect strategic objects of the country.