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Updated 6:00 PM
Participants in an unauthorized protest in Minsk on Sunday began building barricades, witnesses told the Interfax news agency.
They point out that participants in an opposition march carry water-filled plastic road barriers on Timiriazevo street on the road. Currently, there is no traffic here because the road is full of people.
Updated 17.41
Law enforcement officers are using a special technique, water cannons, against opposition supporters in Brest, Belarus.
Police officers repeatedly warned the crowd that the action had not been coordinated with authorities and then used water cannons to eject people, witnesses said.
Updated 17.38
Minsk police have not confirmed eyewitness reports that force officials shot into the air near the Drozdy settlement in Minsk, where the Belarusian leadership lives and where many participants in the unauthorized opposition march gathered.
“No weapons were used,” police spokeswoman Natalia Ganusevich told Interfax. According to her, “the situation remains under control.”
Earlier, witnesses reported that warning shots were fired into the air at the settlement.
As witnesses told Interfax, officials fired several shots after a crowd of thousands gathered at the firewall and the number of protesters began to grow rapidly.
What weapon was fired and whether any injuries were reported.
Previously, the protest columns on Winners Avenue near the Arena City Mall were blocked by OMON officials. They surrounded the first groups of protesters and began arresting people.
An unauthorized protest, an action involving more than 150,000 people, is taking place in the Belarusian capital on Sunday, according to observers. persons.
Updated on 11.17
Campaign participants formed several columns of several thousand. One of them proceeds down Independence Avenue towards the residence of President Aliaksandr Lukashenko. Another column on the side of the stela already goes from the bridge to Kalvarijų street. Protesters moving from the Korona shopping center also join.
Protesters are also moving towards the elite Drozdy hut settlement, where the country’s leadership lives. Another group of people filled Masherov avenue to the intersection with Timiriazevo street.
Volunteers in various locations distribute food and water to protesters. There are many people with children among the protesters, including people with strollers.
According to media reports, unauthorized actions are taking place in other Belarusian cities, including Gomel and Brest, on Sunday.
Earlier, the Belarusian Interior Ministry reported that some 250 people were arrested in various districts of Minsk on Sunday. The ministry states that a total of no more than 3,000 people are participating in the campaigns in the countries. persons.
People walk on the sidewalks and the driveway. Traffic on the prospect has stopped.
Protest participants head towards the stele “Minsk – the hero of the city” near the residence of President Aliaksandr Lukashenko. Law enforcement officials are not currently detaining the protesters.
Meanwhile, some 250 protesters have been detained a bit earlier, the Interior Ministry said.
“About 250 people were arrested in various parts of the capital,” the ministry said, adding that the detainees carried flags and posters with “offensive” inscriptions.
The ministry ensures that the total number of protesters in the republic does not exceed 3,000. persons.
Before this protest, security measures were significantly tightened in the Belarusian capital with the help of the military.
There are people in armor standing next to Lukashenko’s residence, the Palace of Independence.
Militiamen and soldiers fenced off the main squares in the center of the city. For example, the Plaza de Octubre is fenced off with barbed wire. The square next to the Museum of the Great Patriotic War on the stele “Minsk – the hero of the city” was surrounded by soldiers in bulletproof vests and helmets and armed with Kalashnikovs.
In central Minsk, the operation of the metro was restricted and some stations were closed.
Since August 9, massive protests have been taking place in Belarus. Its participants protest against the officially announced results of the presidential elections, which paved the way for the country’s current president, Aliaksandr Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, to remain in power. According to the electoral results officially announced, he was supported by 80.1 percent. Opposition candidate Sviatlana Cichanouskaya received 10.12 percent of the vote. votes.
The protest, which attracts the largest number of people, takes place on Sundays and, according to media estimates, more than 100,000 people gathered in some of them. persons.
A total of about 7,000 people were arrested during the protests on August 9-11. hundreds of people died, four died.
On Monday, Lukashenko will meet in Sochi to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he is expected to discuss plans for further integration of their countries.
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