The resignation of the government and lower gas prices have not yet cooled the fervor of the protesters in Kazakhstan. In the afternoon, protesters began to gather at the administration buildings in different cities of the country.
At about 2 p.m. (Kazakhstan time), people began to flock to Republic Square in Ust-Kamenogorsk – mostly men dressed in dark clothes. The central streets are blocked by reinforced police outfits, which line up along the New Year’s decorations.
In Uralsk, the protesters put forward new conditions to the authorities: to put up yurts, dry closets, to provide the protesters with hot meals. Apparently, they do not intend to leave the streets.
The most tense situation is in Alma-Ata, where protesters staged pogroms at night: they burned cars, smashed shop windows. Law enforcement officers were injured. According to the Ministry of Health of the country, as of January 5, 190 people have applied to medical institutions in Almaty. 40 people were hospitalized with various injuries. Seven are in the intensive care unit, four of them are police officers.
On the morning of December 5, the entire city center was blocked by special equipment and dense columns of security officials in full gear: with shields, helmets, and body armor. Mobile Internet stopped working in the city. Meanwhile, Kazakh journalists broadcast a video of trucks carrying young men armed with sticks and stones driving around the city. But they still cannot break into the center. Correspondents report that explosions of stun grenades are heard in the city.
The most stable situation is in Nur-Sultan. After the night riots, the city is still calm. There is public transport and cars. Only two shopping centers, around which people were demonstrating yesterday, have been closed.
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