Kazakhstan raises death toll to 225 in days of protests

MOSCOW (AP) — A prime law-enforcement official in Kazakhstan stated Saturday that 225 individuals died in the course of the violent demonstrations that shook the nation this month, a considerably greater quantity than beforehand introduced.

Serik Shalabayev, head of the felony prosecution service within the basic prosecutor’s workplace, stated 19 cops or servicemen have been among the many useless, information experiences stated. Greater than 4,300 individuals have been injured, he stated.

The earlier official loss of life toll was 164.

Demonstrations began on Jan. 2 within the oil and gas-rich Central Asian nation to protest a pointy rise in gasoline costs. They shortly unfold nationwide, widened right into a basic protest in opposition to the nation’s authoritarian authorities and descended into violence inside a number of days, particularly in Almaty, the nation’s largest metropolis. Protesters stormed authorities buildings and set them ablaze.

On the request of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Russia-led Collective Safety Treaty Group despatched a pressure of greater than 2,000 troopers, principally Russians, to behave as peacekeepers. The Russian Protection Ministry stated Saturday that its troops had returned dwelling, but it surely was unclear if forces from different alliance international locations remained in Kazakhstan.