Israeli national killed in Kazakhstan riots

In Israeli national living in Kazakhstan was shot dead in the violent riots that have engulfed the Central Asian nation in recent days, the Foreign Ministry confirmed on Saturday.

Dozens of people have died and public buildings across Kazakhstan have been ransacked and torched over the past week in the worst violence experienced in the country, a major oil and uranium producer, since it became independent in the early 1990s as the Soviet Union collapsed.

The victim was identified as 21-years-old Lavan Kojiashvili, and he had reportedly been shot and killed near his home in Almaty by unidentified gunmen who fired at the vehicle he was driving in.

According to the family, Kojiashvili had been living in Kazakhstan for the past few years, and had not taken part in the riots, which were allegedly sparked by a fuel price hike but swelled into a broad movement against the current Russian-backed president.

"Right next to his house, a bundle of shots was fired at his vehicle. No one knows who fired - whether local forces or the protesters. Apparently they fired at his vehicle," said Rostislav Edelstein, a relative of Kojiashvili.

The government added that they are currently working with local authorities to bring Kojiashvili's remains to Israel for burial.

The Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning on January 6, advising any and all Israelis to avoid traveling to Kazakhstan.

Authorities in Kazakhstan, meanwhile, reported that security forces reclaimed the streets of Almaty with the help of Russian-led troops on Friday, following days of violence and destruction.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, on his part, said in a televised address on Friday that he had ordered his troops to shoot to kill to put down the countrywide uprising, which he blamed on "foreign-trained terrorists."