Kuwait asks its citizens to leave Kazakhstan

The Kuwaiti embassy in Kazakhstan asked Kuwaitis in the country to leave “for their safety”, state news agency (KUNA) reported on Friday.

It also urged Kuwaitis who wanted to travel to Kazakhstan to postpone their plans “because of the emergency status” continuing in the country.

Protests began on Sunday when the government lifted its price cap on LPG, which many people use to fuel their cars, but the unrest has since spread to include political grievances.

Security forces appeared to be in control of the streets of Kazakhstan’s main city Almaty on Friday morning and the president said constitutional order had mostly been restored, a day after Russia sent troops to quell protests.

However, fresh gunshots could be heard in the morning near the city’s central square, where troops and protesters had battled through much of the previous day.

Twelve members of the security forces have been killed and 353 injured in the unrest, sparked by a doubling in the cost of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Russia is sending in troops at the request of the Kazakh president.

They will be deployed to help "stabilise" the country, which is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) along with Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.