LCI editorial staff –
The terrible toll is growing again. At least 164 people have died this week in Kazakhstan during the clashes, according to a new sharply rising toll. A figure that could increase: the authorities of the largest country in Central Asia continue their relentless repression, with nearly 6,000 arrests.
In Almaty alone, the economic capital where the most violent riots took place, 103 people were killed, several media reported on Sunday, citing the Ministry of Health. This balance sheet, which could not be independently verified, is on the rise. Authorities had so far reported 26 protesters and 16 members of the security forces killed and more than 2,000 injured.
The presidency announced Sunday that 5,800 people had been arrested and 125 investigations opened in the wake of these unprecedented riots since the independence, in 1989, of this country of 19 million inhabitants rich in hydrocarbons. “The situation is stabilized in all regions of the country”, even if the security forces still carry out operations of “cleaning“, declared the presidency at the end of a meeting of crisis with the head of state, Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev.
The protest began in the provinces last Sunday after the increase in gas prices, before reaching major cities, including Almaty, where the police fired live ammunition at demonstrators storming official buildings.
According to the Kazakh Interior Ministry, the material damage caused by the violence was initially estimated at around 175 million euros. More than 100 businesses and banks were looted and more than 400 vehicles destroyed, according to the same source.