ALMATY, Kazakhstan — More than 5,000 people have been
arrested in
Kazakhstan over the riots that have shaken Central Asia's largest
country in the last week, Kazakh authorities were quoted as saying Sunday.
اضافة اعلان
In total, 5,135 people have been detained for questioning as
part of 125 separate investigations into the unrest, according to the interior
ministry quoted by local media.
The energy-rich country of around 19 million people has been
rocked by a week of riots with dozens killed.
Fuel price rises sparked the unrest a week ago in western
provincial areas but they quickly reached large cities, including the economic
hub Almaty, where riots erupted and police opened fire using live rounds.
The interior ministry, quoted Sunday by local media, said
initial estimates put property damage at around 175 million euros.
More
than 100 businesses and banks were attacked and looted and more than 400
vehicles destroyed, the ministry was quoted as saying.
"Today the situation is stabilized in all regions of
the country," Interior Minister Erlan Turgumbayev said, adding nonetheless
that "the counter-terror operation is continuing in a bid to reestablish
order in the country."
A relative calm appeared to return to Almaty, with police
sometimes firing shots into the air to stop people approaching the city's
central square, an AFP correspondent said Saturday.
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