ANKARA: Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s flagship carrier, has decided to suspend passengers flights to Kazakhstan over the unrest in the Central Asian nation until January 9, media reported.

Mass protests in Kazakhstan began earlier in the week as residents of Zhanaozen and Aktau opposed a two-fold increase in prices for liquefied petroleum gas. The protests then spread to other cities, resulting in violent clashes with the police, looting and vandalism. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency until January 19 and invited the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) peacekeeping forces to help bring the situation under control.

Peacekeeping contingents from Russia and Belarus have arrived in Kazakhstan to protect strategic infrastructure facilities, including the Baikonur cosmodrome. According to CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas, the peacekeeping force is comprised of 2,500 troops on the ground and this number may increase if necessary.