Almaty market hit by new series of fires

30.10.2014
    A section of a large market in Almaty has been destroyed by the latest in a series of fires to strike bazaars in Kazakhstan's largest city.
    No casualties were reported in the fire at the Al-Farabi market on October 29.
    More than a dozen fires have hit markets in Almaty since September 2013, including one that killed two people in December.
    Vendors have staged protests to demand compensation from the government, which some have accused of organizing the fires to drive them out of the markets.
    Almaty officials have refused to rebuild damaged markets, saying they were established illegally in the 1990s, and are interfering with plans for new highways.
    Authorities say one fire has been determined to be the result of arson and the others are still being investigated, according to RFE/RL.