MOSCOW (AP) — The authorities in Kazakhstan said Monday that nearly 8,000 people were detained by police during protests that descended into violence last week and marked the worst unrest the former Soviet nation has faced since gaining independence 30 years ago. The country’s Health Ministry said Sunday that 164 people, including three children, were killed in the unrest. As the unrest mounted, the ministerial cabinet resigned and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev replaced Nursultan Nazarbayev, former longtime leader of Kazakhstan, as head of the National Security Council. Speaking at an extraordinary virtual summit of CSTO on Monday, Tokayev promised to reveal to the world “additional evidence” of a “terrorist aggression” against Kazakhstan. Russian President Vladimir Putin echoed his sentiment and called the unrest “an attack on the country” and “an act of aggression” masterminded from abroad.
