Kazakh town evacuated after munitions depot blasts

The Kazakh government ordered the evacuation of a town of 44,000 on Monday after a series of blasts at a nearby munitions depot, the Central Asian nation's Defence Ministry said.

The blasts, whose cause was unclear, occurred at a military base near Arys in the former Soviet republic's southern Turkestan province.

The Ministry said it was unaware of any deaths or injuries, while local media reported that 10 people with injuries had arrived at a hospital in Shymkent, the biggest city in the province.