Hundreds protest in Shymkent city following munitions depot explosions in Kazakhstan’s Turkestan Region
Hundreds of people, mostly residents of the town of Arys, rallied in the southern Kazakh city of Shymkent and blocked a major road, demanding relocation after series of explosions near Arys led to the evacuation of 35,000 Arys residents to Shymkent. The explosions at a nearby military munitions depot killed three and injured 89.
The protests were responding to the Kazakh authorities' decision to start shuttling evacuees back to Arys on June 28 - the angry Arys residents demanded more explanations from authorities fearing for their safety. The depot has already seen similar explosions in 2009. Governor Omirzaq Shokeev, speaking to the protestors gathering outside a mosque in Shymkent, tried to dispel rumours that the blasts released radiation into the air.
"New houses will be built for you in Arys. If you wish, you can sell them later and move wherever you want," Shokeev said, responding to protesters arguing that the government needs to relocate them.
A state of emergency had been declared around the Turkestan Region - the explosions were powerful enough to have been registered by the country’s seismic service.
Similar incidents in the area took place in 2009, 2014 and 2015. Those incidents were blamed on a failure to observe safety regulations and negligence.
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