MOSCOW -- Kazakhstan's health ministry said on Sunday that 164 people have been killed in protests that have rocked the country over the past week.
The figures on the state news channel Khabar- 24 are a significant increase from previous tallies. It is not clear if the report only refers to civilians or if law enforcement deaths are included. 16 police or national guard members had been killed earlier in the day, according to the Kazakh authorities. The civilian death toll was previously 26 according to authorities.
Most of the deaths - 103 - were in Almaty, the country's largest city, where demonstrators seized government buildings and set some ablaze, according to the ministry. Three of the killed were minors, including a 4-year-old girl, said a ombudswoman for children's rights in Kazakhstan.
More than 2,200 people were treated for injuries from the protests, and about 1,300 security officers were injured, according to the ministry.
Around 5,800 people were detained by police during the protests that developed into violence last week, which prompted a Russia-led military alliance to send troops to the country, according to the office of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
His office said order had stabilized in the country and that authorities regained control of administrative buildings that were occupied by protesters. Some of the buildings were set on fire.
Russian TV station Mir 24 said sporadic gunfire was heard Sunday in Almaty, but it was not clear whether they were warning shots by law enforcement. Tokayev said Friday that he had authorized police and military to shoot to kill to restore order.
Almaty s airport, which had been taken over by protesters last week, was closed but is expected to resume operations Monday.
Protests over a surge in fuel prices began in the country s west on January 2 and spread throughout the country, apparently reflecting wider discontent.
Since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the same party has ruled Kazakhstan. Any figures who want to oppose the government have been either repressed, sidelined or co-opted and financial hardship is widespread despite Kazakhstan's enormous reserves of oil, natural gas, uranium and minerals.
Tokayev contends that the demonstrations were ignited by terrorists with foreign backing, although the protests have shown no obvious leaders or organizations. The detentions included a sizable number of foreign nationals but gave no details, according to a statement from his office on Sunday.
It was not clear how many of those detained remained in custody on Sunday.
The foreign ministry in Kyrgyzstan called for the release of well-known Kyrgyz musician Vikram Ruzakhunov, who was shown in a video on Kazakh television saying he had flown to the country to take part in protests and was promised $200. Ruzakhunov's face was bruised and he had a large cut on his forehead in the video, apparently taken into custody by police.
The former head of Kazakhstan's counterintelligence and anti-terrorism agency has been arrested on charges of attempted government overthrow. The arrest of Karim Masimov, announced Saturday, came just days after he was removed by Tokayev as head of the National Security Committee.
There was no details about what Masimov was alleged to have done that would constitute an attempted overthrow of the government. The National Security Committee, a successor to the Soviet-era KGB, is responsible for counterintelligence, the border guards service and anti-terrorist activities.
As the unrest mounted, Kazakhstan's ministerial cabinet resigned but remained in their posts temporarily. The president will propose a new cabinet on Tuesday, according to Tokayev spokesman Brisk Uali.
At Tokayev's request, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Russian military alliance of six former Soviet states, authorized sending about 2,500 mostly Russian troops to Kazakhstan as peacekeepers.
Some of the force is guarding government facilities in the capital Nur-Sultan, making it possible to release part of the forces of Kazakhstani law enforcement agencies and deploy them to Almaty to participate in the counterterrorist operation, according to a statement from Tokayev's office.
In a sign that the demonstrations were more deeply rooted than just over the fuel price rise, many demonstrators shouted Old Man out, a reference to Nursultan Nazarbayev, who was president of Kazakhstan's independence until he resigned in 2019 and anointed Tokayev as his successor.
Nazarbayev held a lot of power as head of the National Security Council. But Tokayev replaced him as council leader amid the unrest. A concession could be made to mollify protesters. According to KazTag, Nazarbayev adviser Aido Ukibay said on Sunday that it was done at Nazarbayev's initiative.