The arrest of people began in the districts of Minsk during the protests of the Freedom March

According to a correspondent for the Interfax news agency, at least two people were detained in northwestern Minsk and some 20 protesters fled the forces of force structures.

According to witnesses, several people were arrested on Stoletovo Street. Arrests are also reported elsewhere in the capital.

At that time, the Belarusian Association of Journalists reported that two journalists from the BelaPAN news agency had been arrested in Grodno.

The opposition portal tut.by reported that special equipment, including vehicles to transport detainees and a water cannon, were detected in various districts of Minsk on Sunday morning. Three metro stations in the city center were closed, but reopened in about an hour.

People walked through their neighborhoods in columns and around 1 pm The arrests began in local time (12 noon in Lithuania), announces tut. from

Belsat, a Polish television company for Belarus, reported that according to consumer data, the Telegram correspondence platform was disrupted before the demonstrations in Belarus and that there were also problems with the mobile internet in Minsk.

Belarus has faced massive protests for the fourth month in a row over the August 9 presidential election, announced by Alexander Lukashenko, 66, who has ruled the country since 1994.

The opposition and western democracies claim that the elections were rigged and that the winner is seen as political rookie Sviatlan Cichanouskaya, who replaced her imprisoned husband in the presidential fight.

The biggest protests take place on Sundays in Minsk. The protesters changed tactics a few weeks ago and now there is no common ground for their meeting, with demonstrations in the neighborhoods of the capital.

In recent weeks, the Minsk regime has taken tough measures to quell the protests. Hundreds of people were arrested and protesters were banned from voting in central Minsk.