The Central Asian state continues its apparent descent into chaos as street protests triggered by a hike in gas prices grow increasingly violent
The situation in Kazakhstan took a sharp turn for the worse on Wednesday, as several cities saw violent unrest, with administrative buildings stormed, a presidential residence set on fire, and the main airport allegedly seized.
The protests began after a twofold hike in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at the start of the new year. The price caps that had existed in the country for years had turned LPG into an extremely popular type of fuel, widely utilized both in households and in road vehicles, where it was commonly converted to be used instead of conventional gasoline.
In a matter of days, the unrest spread across the nation, growing increasingly political and violent.
The old presidential palace, located in Almaty, has not been spared during the unrest. The crowd has breached its perimeter, setting the building ablaze. While the facility has not been used by the head-of-state for years, since the capital was moved from Almaty to Nur-Sultan (formerly known as Astana), it maintains its status.
Moscow broke its silence on the situation in the former Soviet republic on Wednesday, with the Foreign Ministry urging all parties to show restraint and seek a peaceful solution to the crisis.
“We hope for the swiftest possible normalization of the situation in the country, which is tied to Russia by a strategic partnership and alliance [and by] fraternal and human contacts,” it said in a statement, maintaining that the crisis was Kazakhstan’s internal business and no foreign parties should get involved.
https://ift.tt/2i4b67e 06, 2022 at 12:53AM
from RT – Daily news
