Kazakh president says constitutional order has mostly been restored

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Friday that constitutional order had mostly been restored in the Central Asian country hit by unrest, his office quoted him as saying in a statement.

The Kazakh interior ministry said in a separate statement that 26 "armed criminals" had been "liquidated" and more than 3,000 of them detained, while 18 police and national guard servicemen had been killed since the start of the protests this week.

Tokayev will address the nation on Friday, the state TV added.