Order has been restored in Kazakhstan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told a meeting of a Russian-led regional security alliance on Monday, after days of violent unrest in which more than 150 people were killed and thousands detained.
"Complete order has been restored in Kazakhstan. Threats to the country's security have been averted," Tokayev told a video meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which he had called in to quell riots.
The anti-terrorist operation would soon be completed, Tokayev told the CSTO, adding that there had been an "attempted coup" that sought to seize power.
He also said there had been planned and coordinated attacks on the buildings of regional authorities, law enforcement agencies and prison.
Kazakhstan, which borders Russia and China, was gripped by unrest for a week, after anti-government protests grew out of resentment over increased fuel prices at petrol stations in the oil and gas-rich country.
Alongside peaceful demonstrations, there were also violent riots, especially in the metropolis of Almaty.
Tokayev declared a state of emergency, dismissed the government and ordered the military to shoot at demonstrators without warning.
More than 160 people were reported dead in the violence, a figure provided by state media report citing the Health Ministry, although the report was later deleted without a reason being provided.
Some 2,000 people were injured in the riots, according to Monday's figures.
Flags flew at half mast as the country marked a national day of mourning on Monday, according to Kazinform state news agency.
Nearly 8,000 people were detained amid the unrest, according to the authorities. The Interior Ministry said 7,939 people were taken into custody, with 207 detained at two markets in Almaty alone.
However, at Monday's meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the unrest had not been caused by protests about fuel prices, but was due to "destructive forces from outside taking advantage of the situation."
Besides Russia and Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are also members of the alliance.
The CSTO has said it wants to remain in the country until the situation is "completely stabilized."
Meanwhile the UN expressed concern after photographs emerged showing Kazakh soldiers wearing blue helmets bearing the UN insignia as they intervened during last week's unrest.
"We have conveyed our concern to the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan on this issue," a UN spokesperson told dpa.
United Nations troop and police contributing countries are to use the UN insignia only when they are performing their mandated tasks as UN peacekeepers, in the context of their deployment within a United Nations peacekeeping operation as mandated by the UN Security Council, she said, noting that this was not the case in Kazakhstan.
The photos came from Almaty late last week. It was not initially clear how the soldiers gained access to the helmets or why they were wearing them.
Kazakhstan is a member of the UN and its soldiers were involved in a UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon until last year, among other activities.
On Monday, people in Kazakhstan were able to access the internet after it was intermittently shut down during the unrest, hindering independent verification of the situation on the ground.
