Clashes in Kazakh town as independence day marked

* At least two policemen wounded in clashes

* Nationwide celebrations planned to mark Independence Day

* Violent protests rare in Kazakhstan

ALMATY, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Sacked workers of oil company KazMunaiGas Exploration Production (KMG EP) clashed with police on Friday in a town in western Kazakhstan on Friday, when the Central Asian country marks Independence day, prosecutors said.

A statement by Kazakhstan's prosecutor-general's office said two police officers had been injured during clashes in the town of Zhanaozen, and asked residents not to gather in public places.

The statement gave no figure for the protesters, but said that "mass disorders occurred today as a result of criminal actions of a group of people in the town of Zhanaozen of the Mangistau region".

Violent protests are relatively rare in Kazakhstan, a resource-rich nation of 16.6 million people and Central Asia's largest economy. President Nursultan Nazarbayev, 71, has run the vast steppe country with a firm hand for more than 20 years and has overseen massive foreign investment, mainly in oil and gas.

On Friday, the nation marked the 20th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union, with celebrations held nationwide. In a speech on Thursday, Nazarbayev stressed the need for stability.

But the clashes soured the mood in Zhanaozen, a town of 90,000 people, where the protesters destroyed the traditional Kazakh "yurt" felt tents and a concert stage installed in the town's central square.

"They were outraged that the administration was preparing a holiday for the town's residents ... and they started pelting stones at people walking by," Zhanna Oishibayeva, an aide to the Mangistau governor, told Reuters.

She said some 50 sacked workers had gathered in the square, a common place for demonstrations.

Social networks said that some locals had heard shooting in Zhanaozen. A Twitter user nicknamed @zhanaozen said that the town administration building was on fire. These reports could not be independently confirmed.

Minutes later, Kazakh communications company Kazakhtelecom switched off Twitter, and telephone communication with Zhanaozen was erratic.

London-listed KMG EP, majority owned by Kazakh state oil and gas firm KazMunaiGas, was hit this year by a three-month strike at its Uzenmunaigas unit near Zhanaozen, which cut its oil output. A total of 989 Uzenmunaigas workers were sacked. (Reporting by Mariya Gordeyeva and Dmitry Solovyov; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Alessandra Rizzo)