Cutting off the internet has created practical problems. Kazakhstan is heavily dependent on it with around half the population using an app operated by fintech company Kaspi.kz to buy goods. The app is now not working and neither are the bank machines.

Unrest this week in the largest and wealthiest state in Central Asia was sparked by a protest on its western fringe over a spike in fuel prices. It spread so quickly that few people had time to prepare, especially for the violence that erupted on Wednesday evening in Almaty with looting by armed men.

Shortly afterwards city authorities warned residents that the security forces were about to begin an “anti-terrorist operation” and that they should remain in their homes.

One man who had ventured out to find food was shot dead, according to credible reports, and a Kazakh media group said that one of its drivers had been killed.

An ambulance refused to transport a woman to hospital in the middle of the night to give birth because it would have been too dangerous to break the 7pm curfew, according to another media source.

Terrified people still reportedly hiding in their apartments are now running out of food.

“Some people living near Republic Square do not have gas to cook for several days. They do not have food to buy from anywhere,” said Aigerim Toleukhanova, a Kazakh journalist who is now based abroad.

Supermarkets, offices and banks are closed in central Almaty, Kazakhstan’s financial hub, although some basic shops on the outskirts of the city are reported to have opened as the violence subsides.

There have been protests elsewhere in Kazakhstan but Almaty was the main focus.