OREANDA-NEWS. All administrative buildings in Almaty are under the control of law enforcement agencies. This was reported by state TV channel Khabar-24 with reference to the republic's Interior Ministry.

According to the ministry, the protesters were forced out of the Akimat, the presidential residence and Republic Square, and all state buildings are under the control of law enforcers. The Kazakh Interior Ministry added that 18 officers were killed and another 748 police and National Guard officers were injured.

Mass protests erupted in Kazakhstan January 2 after demonstrations sparked by a steep rise in the price of liquefied gas. Days later, the protests escalated into violence, as protesters demanded government resignation. In Almaty, protesters stormed the offices of the Prosecutor General's Office and the city administration, which later went up in flames.

By the morning of 6 January, several dozen protesters had been killed in storming administrative buildings in and around Almaty. More than 1,000 people were injured in riots across the country, with about 400 of them hospitalised, according to Kazakhstan's Ministry of Health.

Kazakhstani President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev has announced the start of an anti-terrorist operation. He ordered an assessment of the damage from the riots and to start rebuilding administrative buildings.