RE:Crisis Unfolding MOSCOW (AP) — The presidential residence in Kazakhstan’s largest city was engulfed in flames on Wednesday and armed protesters stormed another government building, according to news reports, as demonstrations sparked by a rise in fuel prices escalated sharply.
In response to the protests, the government resigned and the president vowed to take harsh measures to quell the unrest. Late in the day, Kazakh news sites became inaccessible, and the global watchdog organization Netblocks said the country was experiencing a pervasive internet blackout.
But Russia’s Tass news agency reported from Kazakhstan that the presidential residence in Almaty, where thousands of demonstrators had gathered outside, was on fire and that the city’s main administration building that includes the mayor’s office was burning from top to bottom hours after demonstrators broke in.
Many of the demonstrators who converged on the mayoral office carried clubs and shields, according to earlier reports in Kazakh media.
Tokayev has declared a two-week state of emergency for both the capital and Almaty, imposing an overnight curfew and restricting movement into and around the cities.