NUR-SULTAN, January 29. /TASS/. The mass riots that broke out in Kazakhstan in early January had been plotted by professionals, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in a televised interview with the national channel Khabar-24, aired on Saturday.

"I think it was a calculated action, what is more, with all the stages of the unrest - starting with peaceful protests, which did take place, and ending with homicide and looting. It was a comprehensive operation masterminded by professionals and executed by professionals. As for the peaceful demonstrations, of course, they took place. There was not and could not have been any use of force against demonstrators," Tokayev said.

According to the president, many of the fighters who took part in the mass riots in Almaty have left the city, including those who escaped into neighboring republics.

"The fact is that very many militants, including their commanders, have left Almaty. Some of them vanished in the countryside, some crossed the border into neighboring republics, some disguised themselves in other ways and went underground. There are facts when they shave off their beards, change their appearance, transforming themselves into civilians," Tokayev said.

Protests broke out in various Kazakh cities on January 2, escalating into mass riots and attacks against police and military personnel, with government buildings getting ransacked across several cities a few days later. Subsequently, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) requesting assistance, and as a result, peacekeepers were deployed to Kazakhstan. Law and order, Kazakh authorities affirm, was restored to all of the country’s regions by the morning of January 7. On January 19, the state of emergency was lifted across the country. According to authorities, 225 people were killed in the insurrection, and more than 4,500 people injured.