Kazakhstan declares state of emergency as protests surge across country

NUR SULTAN, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan declared a state of emergency in two regions early Wednesday as protests against rising liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices spread across the country.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a government order declaring a state of emergency in the city of Almaty and the oil-rich Mangystau region in the west between Jan. 5-19 to maintain public security.

Thousands of people took to the streets in Almaty, the country’s former capital. While police used stun grenades and teargas to disperse the protestors, they responded with stones.

The government has also restricted access to social media applications including Facebook and Telegram.

The protests broke out when drivers staged demonstrations against the increase in LPG prices in the city of Zhanaozen in Mangystau on Jan. 2, which later spread to Aktau city in the center of the state.

Supportive protests in the western cities of Atyrau, Aktobe and Oral, where the country’s petroleum and natural gas reserves are located, spread to other corners of Kazakhstan to turn into public demonstrations.

*Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara