Kazakhstan, President Tokayev: 'protest an attempted coup'

Kazakhstan's president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, described the protests and unrest in the country as an "attempted coup" and declared that

. "Armed militants waiting in the wings joined the protests. The main goal was obvious: to undermine constitutional order, the destruction of government institutions and the seizure of power. It was an attempted coup," he said. Tokayev adding that the Moscow-led military mission in Kazakhstan should end "soon". 

Dozens of people were killed during the protests and the Interior Ministry said today that

.

"As of January 10, 7,989 individuals are detained by organs of the Ministry of the Interior", underlines a statement from the same ministry, published on the government website.

Russian -led

in Kazakhstan will remain in the country for a "limited" time, Russian President Vladimir Putin assured.

The latter also stressed that the country is the target of "international terrorism".