Protesters break into administration building in Kazakhstan’s Almaty

According to the source, they were armed with fittings, sticks and shields. The fire started from the eastern side of the building on the first floor.

Some witnesses told TASS that the protesters tried to storm the city administration building.

On January 2, crowds took to the streets in the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the Mangistau region, protesting against high fuel prices. Two days later, the protests engulfed Almaty, where the police used flashbangs to disperse the crowd, as well as other cities, including Atyrau, Aktobe, Uralsk, Taraz, Shymkent, Kyzylorda, Karaganda and even Kazakhstan’s capital Nur-Sultan. The president imposed a two-week state of emergency and a curfew in the country’s largest city of Almaty and the southwestern Mangistau Province early on Wednesday. The head of the state also accepted the government’s resignation. Its members will continue to perform their tasks until a new cabinet is formed.