Kazakh President Says Key Facilities In Almaty Must Be Reconstructed Within 8 Months

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2022) Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that key facilities in the city of Almaty, devastated by the civil unrest, must be reconstructed within the past eight months.

"I give 8 months ... the main facilities must be reconstructed but the work will be continued also after that," Tokayev said on late Wednesday, as quoted by the Khabar 24 broadcaster.

Protests began in the cities of Aktau and Zhanaozen in southwestern Kazakhstan last week over a twofold hike in fuel prices. They quickly spread to the country's largest city and economic hub, Almaty, as well as other cities, and turned violent. Shops were looted while government offices were attacked. The Collective Security Treaty Organization deployed a peacekeeping contingent to Kazakhstan after Tokayev asked the regional alliance for help in battling terrorists.

The Kazakh president reshuffled the cabinet and appointed a new prime minister on Tuesday.