A Kazakh law enforcement officer stands guard near a burnt truck while checking vehicles in a street following mass protests triggered by fuel price increase in Almaty, Kazakhstan, January 8, 2022. (Photo: REUTERS)

Dozens of people have been killed, thousands detained and public buildings have been torched across the Central Asia country in the past week, prompting President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to issue shoot-to-kill orders to end unrest he has blamed on what he terms bandits and terrorists.

At Tokayev's invitation, the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) sent troops to restore order.

The administration said 5,800 people had been arrested in connection with the unrest, including a "significant number" of foreign citizens. It said the situation had stabilised in all regions.

The demonstrations in Kazakhstan began as a response to a fuel price hike before spiralling into a broad movement against Tokayev's government and his predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev.