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Protests in Kazakhstan: police report civilians killed

Kazakhstan: it's unclear how many civilians were killed in anti-government protests.

There are reports of renewed gunfire in the central square of Kazakhstan's main city, Almaty, after troops moved in to clear anti-government protestors. Russian-led troops will be deployed to help "stabilise" Kazakhstan amid anti-government demonstrations.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for support from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as nationwide unrest escalated.

The protests were first sparked by rising fuel prices but have broadened to include political grievances. President Tokayev accused foreign-trained "terrorist gangs" of being behind the unrest.

Asel Doolotkeldieva - from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Academy in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan - researches central Asian politics, specialising in protest movements:

鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult to know what鈥檚 going on for sure because of the internet blackout. We don鈥檛 know how many casualties there are. Official reports say only about the casualties on the law enforcement side but not the civilian side.鈥

(Pic: A Kazakh police car is on fire during protests in Almaty; Credit: Reuters)

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