Kazakh squatters clash with police to defend land

ALMATY, July 14 (Reuters) Kazakh squatters threw petrol bombs, burnt tyres and took a policeman hostage today to prevent police evicting them from land they claim.

Dozens of police and rioters were injured in the violence on the outskirts of the commercial capital, Almaty, police said.

Local settlers, some wearing balaclavas and holding metal sticks, snatched one injured policeman and held him in a shack near the site of clashes in Shanyrak, a northern district of the city where officials say up to 5,000 people live illegally.

''I'd rather die than leave my home. I am prepared to fight to the end,'' shouted Maksud, a man in his 30s with a crudely made Molotov cocktail in his hand. He said riot police fired rubber bullets during the height of violence, injuring some.

Police retreated after several attempts to regain control as rioters hurled stones and petrol bombs at them and shouted ''This is our land!'' Such scenes are rare in Kazakhstan, an oil-producing Central Asian state which prided itself on its relative stability in the otherwise volatile region near Afghanistan.

The settlers, some of whom moved there from remote Kazakh villages in search of jobs some years ago, refused to abandon their houses and blamed President Nursultan Nazarbayev's government for blocking attempts to legalise ownership rights.

A spokesman for Almaty police said the authorities tried to persuade rioters to free the hostage through negotiations and end the violence.

''Everything depends on them. We are ready for talks,'' he said.

Local residents barricaded the area with barbed wire and slabs of concrete. They said they would resist any attempt to remove them by force and were prepared to hold out for days.

Several opposition activists arrived at the scene, saying the standoff represented brewing discontent with what they see as Nazarbayev's authoritarian regime.

''This country is full of injustice. People are very angry,'' said Gulmira, an activist who declined to give her last name.

''This is not just about my house, my family. This is all about fighting for our rights.'' Officials have not made clear what they want to do with the land, but say the settlers have no right to it and must leave.

REUTERS PKS BST1844