Turkish Airlines to restart Kazakhstan flights January 13

Turkey's flag-carrier Turkish Airlines will restart flights to Kazakhstan from January 13, chief executive Bilal Eksi said on Tuesday, after the airline halted its flights over countrywide violence last week.

Eksi said commercial flights to Nur-Sultan would begin on January 13, followed by flights to Aktau on January 14 and Turkistan on January 15.

"Our talks with authorities on commercial flights to Almaty continue," Eksi said on Twitter.

Kazakhstan says government buildings were attacked in many major cities after initially peaceful protests against hikes in the price of car fuel turned violent. The interior ministry said 9,900 people have been detained over the violence.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev named Alikhan Smailov prime minister on Tuesday, after having dismissed the government during the protests last week.

(Reuters)