A total of 164 people have been killed in protests in Kazakhstan over the past week, the country’s health ministry has said.

Demonstrations first began over a rise in fuel prices but grew to express broader frustrations about the government, prompting a Russia-led military alliance to send soldiers to the country.

Those who died include 103 people in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, where demonstrators stormed government buildings and set some on fire, health officials said.

The president’s office said authorities have now regained control of the buildings and the situation in the country has stabilised.

Russian TV station Mir-24 said occasional gunfire was heard in the city on Sunday, but it was unclear whether it was warning shots by police.

Three of the casualties were under the age of 18, including a four-year-old girl, the country’s ombudswoman for children’s rights said.

More than 2,200 people have been injured during the unrest – 1,300 of them security officers, officials said.

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There were also about 5,800 people detained by police, according to the office of Kazakhstan’s president.

It is not clear if the deaths refer only to civilians or include law enforcement officers.

Authorities said earlier on Sunday that 16 police officers or members of the national guard were among those who have died, while the figure for civilian deaths was previously given as 26.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Friday that he had authorised police and the military to shoot to kill to restore order.

Almaty’s airport, which had been taken over by protesters, is expected to resume operating on Monday.

Kazakhstan has been led by the same party since the nation’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, with challengers repressed, sidelined or co-opted.

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