The incident, triggered by an argument over a right of way, led to a brawl between ethnic Kazakhs and Dungans, a minority group with Chinese roots, followed by an overnight rampage in which an angry crowd torched dozens of buildings and cars.

Tokayev has earlier blamed the violence on "provocateurs" who used an act of hooliganism to instigate larger-scale violence and said the local authorities would be punished for failing to prevent it.

Dozens of people were wounded in the conflict and many Dungans fled to neighbouring Kyrgyzstan the following day. Police have detained more than 40 people at the site and closed large markets in Almaty, the biggest city in the former Soviet republic, to prevent further clashes.