NUR-SULTAN / ex ASTANA (TASS) — The situation in several populated localities in Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl region, where a state of emergency had been declared over violent clashes on Saturday, has returned back to normal, the press service of the country’s prime minister said on Sunday.

Eight people were killed in a series of violent clashes in a rural area of Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl region. A total of 37 people remain in hospitals, according to Deputy Health Minister Kamalzhan Nadyrov. The state of emergency has been in place in the Zhambyl region’s Kordai district from 21:00 local time on Saturday.

According to the prime minister’s office, deputy premier Berdibek Saparbayev visited some of those areas on Saturday night. The statement says:

The situation in those populated areas is normal. On [Saturday] afternoon, residents were assured that there will be no more disturbances and the situation is under control.

“A governmental commission that had arrived from Nur-Sultan will stay in the Kordai district to control the situation in the area”, the government said.

During an earlier meeting with local elders in the village of Sortobe, the deputy premier called upon local residents to stay calm and not to respond to provocations. “Our task is to ensure the public order and safety of the population”, he said. “We will restore order, so I ask you to remain calm. We have all the necessary capabilities and resources to do so”, the governmental press service quoted him as saying.

The premier added that a team of investigators will look into all circumstances of the incident to identify those behind it. He stressed that the clashes were a result of a domestic dispute, adding that “there is no inter-ethnic context here.”