Kazakhstan's president declared a two-week state of emergency in large parts of the country on Wednesday after protests over fuel price rises turned violent. The southeastern city of Almaty, Kazakhstan's financial capital, was in chaos since late Tuesday as police fired tear gas and stun grenades to quell unrest that began in the west of the country over a spike in local prices for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev tweeted late on Tuesday that authorities had taken a decision to lower LPG prices in Mangystau "in order to ensure stability in the country."