Shootout began in the center of Almaty

NUR-SULTAN, 7 Jan. Shooting is heard in the central square of Almaty after a relatively long period of silence, RIA Novosti reports. At the same time, there are no participants in the riots: perhaps the shootout is going on with criminals barricaded in a nearby office of one of the TV channels. «These are the best fighters.» Why Russia is sending peacekeepers to Kazakhstan Riots in Kazakhstan Protest actions in Kazakhstan have been taking place since the first days of the new year. Initially, residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau, which are located in the oil-producing Mangistau region, rallied to protest against a two-fold increase in prices for liquefied petroleum gas used as fuel for cars. The republican Ministry of Energy explained that from January 1, its value began to be formed in electronic exchange trading based on supply and demand. The authorities later announced that they were ready to fulfill the main demand of the protesters — to reduce gas prices. Despite this, protests began in other cities. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismissed the government on Wednesday morning. He also announced that he was becoming the head of the Security Council, which was previously led by the first president of the republic, Nursultan Nazarbayev. The government introduced state regulation of gasoline and diesel fuel prices for 180 days. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan has confirmed the elimination of 26 armed criminals throughout the country introduced a state of emergency. Participants in the pogroms made several attempts to storm administrative buildings and police departments, during which dozens of people were killed. The president warned that the authorities will take the toughest measures against violators. If at first the actions were peaceful, then the crowd was led by bandits and terrorists with weapons. At the request of Tokayev, a collective CSTO contingent entered the republic. Russia has sent airborne troops on board the Aerospace Forces: they will guard government and administrative buildings. Also, assistance will be provided by other member countries of the organization: Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The Russian Foreign Ministry considers the events in Kazakhstan as an externally inspired attempt to undermine the security and integrity of the state by force. Follow the situation in Kazakhstan in the online report & gt; & gt ;