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Protests in Kazakhstan

Kazakh Information Ministry refutes TV report of 164 people killed in nationwide unrest

It was noted that the ministry did not have information on the total number of those killed during the unrest

NUR-SULTAN, January 10. /TASS/. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Information and Social Development has refuted the Khabar 24 TV channel’s report of 164 people killed during the recent mass riots.

"There was a technical mistake. The data on the number of deaths is untrue," a ministry spokesperson told TASS on Monday.

The spokesperson added that the ministry did not have information on the total number of those killed during the unrest.

The news about the death toll was reported by the Khabar 24 TV channel and the Telegram account of the country’s crisis center publishing official information from Kazakhstan’s state agencies on January 9.

Protests erupted in several Kazakh cities on January 2, escalating into mass riots with government buildings getting ransacked in several cities a few days later. The ensuing violence left scores of people injured, with fatalities also reported. Subsequently, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), requesting assistance from the Russia-led bloc. As a result, peacekeepers have already been deployed to Kazakhstan. Law and order, Kazakh authorities affirm, was restored to all of the country’s regions by January 7. Tokayev declared January 10 to be a day of national mourning.

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