At least 164 people have been killed and more than 5,000 detained during violent upheaval in Kazakhstan this week, as unrest swept the nation and the death toll ticked even higher.
Deadly protests that erupted in in the Central Asian country in recent days have seen the government resign and the declaration of a state of emergency as troops from a Russia-led military alliance have been deployed to help contain the unrest. The death toll -- a significant increase from Friday's count of 44 -- was announced Sunday on state-run TV channel Khabar 24, citing the Kazakhstan Ministry of Health.
"Peacekeeping" forces from member states of Collective Security Treaty Organization have fully deployed to Kazakhstan and are now completely operational within the country, CSTO commander general Andrey Sedyukov told a news briefing on Sunday.