Fuel to fire How peaceful protests spiralled into bloodshed

For many Kazakhs, the full story behind the unrest of last week remains as murky as the mist that enveloped Almaty, the country’s largest city and the centre of violence, at the same time.

People were unable to access accurate information, as an internet blackout froze almost all access to the outside world during a tragic few days in which military vehicles rolled through the streets, government buildings burned and state television carried threats that “bandits and terrorists” would be eliminated without mercy.

By last weekend, both order and the internet had been largely restored, but there