A major dispute broke out today in a city in Kazakhstan oil. Media talk about the dead, the authorities deny.
Western news agencies are talking about five people dead and dozens injured. Clashes took place in the downtown market.

A protest of former employees of state oil company KazMunaiGas which degenerated into clashes with police took place today in the city Zhanaozen oil from Kazakhstan, according to Russian media. Some reports, which could not be confirmed by independent sources however talk about 20 people killed in clashes between police and protesters. Local authorities have denied those figures, saying only that two policemen were wounded.

The protest was initiated by former oil company employees who were fired because of a strike. Anagajaţii company demanded higher wages and better working conditions.

Protests have erupted several months. The application was refused, and employees who stayed on strike for months were fired because they have not come to work. Even if they have appealed against that decision, the courts of Kazakhstan agreed with the employer, saying that people were fired legally on Kazakh state labor law. KazMunaiGas announced that production has dropped by 150,000 tons in the spring, when the strikes began.

The protests, which are rare in Kazakhstan, have occurred even in the context in which the president, Nursultan Nazarbaev, who runs the country for 20 years, just talking about the need for stability.