Chaos and riots: in Alma-Ata, protesters win street clashes with police

Demonstrators armed with sticks, rebar and shields broke into the administration building of the city of Alma-Ata. Explosions are heard in footage published by the media. Eyewitnesses note that a fire started on the eastern side of the building.

This is reported by the news portal zakon.kz.

Another group of demonstrators drove up to the building in a seized car. They are armed with firearms, the newspaper writes.

The police inside the building are using flash-banging grenades, Sputnik Kazakhstan said. According to preliminary information, there are wounded among the military.

The security forces are at one with the protesters.

In Almaty, the Internet was turned off, access to social networks was completely blocked. Almaty residents go to social networks via VPN. There are interruptions in cellular communications in the city. Explosions and shots rang out tonight and until morning. Almaty residents learn news about what is happening in the country only through local TV channels.

The number of victims of clashes near the city administration of Almaty went to dozens, KazTAG reports. According to the newspaper, about 20 soldiers of the National Guard were beaten near the akimat, five of them were carried by colleagues. Also, the publication reports at least one soldier with a gunshot wound. The publication notes that only one ambulance was able to get to the scene. At the same time, the protesters interfere with the removal of the beaten.

According to the Vlast newspaper, several thousand people are trying to break into the territory of the president's residence in Almaty. Explosions of flash bangs and shots are heard.

Let's remind that earlier the government of Kazakhstan resigned. A state of emergency has been declared in Alma-Ata, Almaty and Mangistau regions.

The protests in the country began in connection with the doubling of gas prices (from 60 to 120 tenge per liter). The protesters demanded to return the prices up to 50 tenge. The authorities made concessions and promised to do so, calling on residents to dialogue. However, the demonstrators refused to disperse . They demanded not only the resignation of the government, but also the "father of the nation" Nursultan Nazarbayev, after whose name the capital of the country is named. He holds the position of Chairman of the Security Council of Kazakhstan and is a member of the Constitutional Council. Residents of the country believe that he is still the secret leader of the country.

In the city of Aktobe, water cannons were used against protesters.

The protesters are aware of the resignation of the Cabinet of Ministers of Askar Mamin, adopted on Wednesday night. They say that the change of some officials to others will not bring results, and demand that the entire government leave the corridors of power. Those present declare that the parliament should also be dissolved.

In Zhanaozen, where the current protests began on January 2, which then spread to other cities, people also continue to be in the square.

The residents of Zhanaozen put forward political demands: the complete resignation of the government, changes in the electoral legislation to allow independent self-nominated candidates to participate in the elections, limitation of presidential powers and expansion of parliamentary powers, return to the 1993 Constitution.

Meanwhile, a state of emergency was declared in the capital of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, from January 5 to 19. The situation in the capital, where the rallies were held on Tuesday, is calm, Sputnik Kazakhstan reports.