Protesters in Kazakhstan flocking to Almaty city center again

A group of young people are walking and driving from the outskirts of Almaty to the city center, where massive clashes with law enforcement officers took place on January 4, Report informs citing KazTAG.

Videos posted on social networks show one of the rally participants holding a shield of a special police unit officer, presumably 'a trophy' seized during yesterday’s clashes.

Photos and videos from social networks also indicate that the protesters are moving in special vehicles, which may also belong to the security forces.

In the early days of 2022, residents of Zhanaozen and Aktau cities in the Mangystau region (an oil-producing region in western Kazakhstan) protested against a two-fold increase in prices for liquefied petroleum gas. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed to form a government commission to consider the situation. On January 4, the commission announced its readiness to fulfill the main demand of the protesters and reduce gas prices.

However, the protests spread to other cities as well. In Almaty, the biggest city in the country, on the evening of January 4 and on the night of January 5, protesters clashed with the security forces, the police used gas and stun grenades. Tokayev urged people to show prudence and not succumb to internal and external provocations. He said the calls to attack civilian and military offices are illegal.

The president declared a state of emergency in Mangystau Region and Almaty until January 19.