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Some 100,000 people took to the streets of Minsk to protest against electoral fraud and police violence, wrote AFP and Reuters. 250 protesters have been arrested for wearing opposition symbols, the Belarusian Interior Ministry said.
Police are using barbed wire to close off the central square of the capital, according to Al Jazeera.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, faces an unprecedented protest movement after the August 9 elections, which he won with 80% of the vote and which the opposition denounced as fraudulent.
The results of the presidential elections were rejected by the European Union, which is preparing sanctions against senior representatives of the Belarusian regime, and asked Alexander Lukashenko to enter into a dialogue with the opposition. Instead, Lukashenko rejected any concessions and denounced a Western plot to oust him from power. Its only support remains Russia.
The first demonstrations in Belarus after the August 9 elections were forcibly suppressed. Three people died, dozens were injured and more than 7,000 were arrested.
