Police officers during a protest in Almaty, Kazakhstan NUR-SULTAN, Jan 5 The commandant's office of Alma-Ata, against the background of the situation with the protests, recommended that residents not leave their homes unnecessarily, and that drivers should avoid a number of urban areas. Raiymbek and Abay avenues, as well as the city center. We also ask the residents of the city to refrain from walking and visiting public places at the moment, «- said in a statement released on Wednesday. It is noted that these measures are dictated by the personal safety of citizens.» Law enforcement agencies continue to take measures to stabilize the situation and ensure the rule of law. Given the emergence of rumors and fakes, we ask all citizens and the media to use and rely only on official sources of information, «- emphasized in the message. In the first days of 2022, residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the Mangistau region in western Kazakhstan) protested against the the stolen price hike for liquefied petroleum gas. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed to form a government commission to consider the situation. On January 4, she announced that she was ready to fulfill the main demand of the protesters and reduce gas prices. 
Clashes between protesters and police began in the center of Almaty, however, the protests spread to other cities. In Alma-Ata, the largest city in the country, on the evening of January 4 and on the night of January 5, protesters clashed with the security forces, the police used gas and stun grenades. Tokayev urged people to show prudence and not succumb to provocations from inside and outside. He noted that calls to attack civilian and military offices are illegal. According to him, «the power will not fall,» but the country «does not need a conflict, but mutual trust and dialogue.» It provides for a curfew from 7.00 to 23.00, a ban on mass events and strikes, a ban on the sale of weapons, ammunition and alcohol, the confiscation of weapons and ammunition from people, and increased security of especially important facilities. Entry and exit from Alma-Ata is restricted, document checks, inspections of people and vehicles are prescribed. On the morning of January 5, Tokayev dismissed the government and said that the Cabinet was especially guilty for allowing a protest situation. The President noted the gradual rectification of the situation in Alma-Ata and the Mangistau region after the introduction of the state of emergency.
