Overnight Brawl in Kazakhstan Leaves 8 Dead

A brawl and a series of clashes in several villages in Kazakhstan's southern province of Zhambyl left eight people dead and scores injured, Interior Minister Yerlan Turgumbayev said on Saturday.

Police and the National Guard are now in control of the situation, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in a statement commanding the government to take steps to keep the villages quiet.

The area where the clashes were held is home to many members of the Dungan minority group, Muslims of ethnic Chinese origin.

Tokayev urged a thorough investigation and instructed security agencies to prosecute "provocative rumors and disinformation" on those who spread ethnic hate speech.

Source: Reuters