Kazakh websites, including the websites of some of Kazakhstan’s media outlets, cannot be accessed by users in other countries, and people in Kazakhstan are reporting mobile signal problems. Kazakh citizens currently abroad have said they are having difficulty getting in touch with their relatives in Nur-Sultan and Almaty by phone and via popular messengers.
As reported, protest rallies against the sharp increase in prices for liquefied gas began in Kazakhstan in Zhanaozen (a city in Mangystau region in western Kazakhstan) on January 2. They then escalated into massive protests across the country with economic and political demands. On January 4, protesters clashed with security officials in Almaty.
President of the country Kassym-Jomart Tokayev introduced a state of emergency in Almaty, Mangystau and Almaty regions for the period until January 19 and a curfew, which will operate from 23:00 to 07:00.
On the morning of January 5, the government of Kazakhstan was dismissed.
