INTERNATIONAL:​ Violent unrest in Kazakhstan has left 225 people dead, authorities have announced on Saturday, representing a dramatic increase over previous tolls.

A representative of the state prosecutor has announced that during the state of emergency, the bodies of 225 people were delivered to morgues, of which 19 were law enforcement officers and military personnel.

Others were armed bandits who participated in terrorist attacks, and unfortunately, civilians also became the victims of acts of terrorism.

Massive protests began in Kazakhstan on 2 January 2022 after a sudden sharp increase in liquefied gas prices after the lifting of a government-enforced price cap on 1 January and escalated into mass riots a few days later in major cities, including Almaty.

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Saturday has held a meeting with the country's security and law-enforcement agencies and asked them to further look into recent riots and reform the country's security system.

Following the results of the meeting, the head of state gave a number of instructions. Special attention was paid to the issues of comprehensively investigating the tragic events in Kazakhstan, in particular, in Almaty, establishing the exact number of those killed among civilians, developing a new regulatory framework and coordinating the actions of security, defense and law-enforcement agencies in critical situations, the presidential press office said in a statement.

The president has declared a state of emergency last week over the mass protesting. As of Saturday afternoon, the state of emergency was lifted in 10 out of 17 regions as the situation become still.