Kazakhstan unrest left 225 dead, more than 4,500 injured: Prosecutor's office

Almaty [Kazakhstan], January 15 : The wave of unrest that swept Kazakhstan in early January has left 225 people killed and thousands of others hurt, the head of the criminal prosecution service at the Prosecutor General's Office said Saturday.
"Bodies of 225 deceased people were brought to morgues... There were 19 police and service personnel among them," Serik Shalabayev told a news conference.
The official said that 4,578 people had been identified as victims following almost two weeks of violent protests. This includes 4,353 wounded people, 3,393 of them security service personnel.
After weeks of protests and unrest in the country, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed the country's National Security Council to accelerate efforts to establish a Special Operations Force according to Sputnik.
Kazakhstan witnessed large-scale protests in recent weeks over the hike in gas prices and it forced the cabinet to resign. With the worsening situation, President Tokayev invited Collective Security Treaty Organization forces in the country for control. The CSTO forces left Kazakhstan on Friday and country's situation is turning back to normal, as reported by Sputnik.