Chinese, Kazakh Workers Clash In Atyrau

ATYRAU, Kazakhstan -- The owners of an engineering company in Kazakhstan have announced that they are separating Kazakh and Chinese workers who lived in the same dormitory after clashes on August 13 between the two groups.

It is not clear what exactly sparked the clashes between Kazakh and Chinese workers at the Atyrau Oil Refinery.

The Kazakh workers told RFE/RL on August 15 that they are being moved from their accommodations in the village of Geolog to the nearby village of Balyqshi.

The deputy head of the company, Altai Tomaqaev, confirmed there was what he called a "scuffle" and that the Kazakh workers are being moved.

A spokeswoman for the Atyrau region's interior affairs department told RFE/RL that investigations are under way.

The company's Kazakh workers held a strike in May demanding a salary raise and better working and living conditions.