The police arrested 125 protesters and the tanks were taken to the streets of Minsk. Lukashenko, again photographed with a rifle in hand

Tens of thousands took to the streets on Sunday (August 30) to protest against the regime led by President Alexander Lukashenko. The tanks were removed from the streets of Minsk with the new protest. Thousands of women who attended the demonstration sat on the ground to prevent law enforcement from advancing.

TO UPDATE Belarusian police detained 125 protesters who gathered again in the center of the capital Minsk to demand the withdrawal of President Lukashenko, who denies the opposition’s accusations that he defrauded the August 9 elections, Reuters reports. Towards night, several people managed to prevent a protester from being loaded into the van by the police in the capital, Minsk.

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President Alexander Lukashenko was photographed on Sunday in front of the Independence Palace in Minsk, holding a rifle in his hands, reports RIA Novosti. The photo was sent to RIA Novosti by Lukasenko’s spokesman in response to a question about the whereabouts of the Belarusian president and whether he was following the situation in Minsk.

The correspondent for the news agency also reported on the spot that armored vehicles had arrived at the Independence Palace. The tanks are a few hundred meters from the police cordon where tens of thousands of people are protesting. Recall that last Sunday, a video showed President Alexander Lukashenko arriving with a bulletproof vest and a Kalasnikov assault rifle in hand at his residence in Minsk, located not far from where the opposition protests, according to AFP.

This afternoon, near the GUM, the women recaptured the guy from the security forces. pic.twitter.com/S65RL9WOVh

– TUT.BY (@tutby) August 30, 2020

At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin invited the Minsk leader to Moscow, a way to show his support, an invitation he made on Sunday, on the occasion of the birthday of the head of state of Belarus.

Journalist Hanna Liubakova writes on her Twitter page that there are reports of tanks heading into the center of the capital.

Europa Libera shares impressive images from the protest on Facebook. The women lay down on the asphalt to stop the police, who are advancing with carts and shields. The filming took place at the beginning of the protest in Minsk.

The Belarusian authorities carried out a massive police and military operation in the capital, ahead of a rally in which the Belarusian opposition hopes to gather a large number of participants, as on previous weekends, reports AFP. Police wear intervention equipment and armed and masked soldiers do not have distinctive badges, an agency reporter found.

On August 16 and 23, nearly 100,000 people took to the streets of the Belarusian capital for the largest protests in the country’s history.

President Alexander Lukashenko, 65, who has led Belarus for 26 years, has faced daily rallies since the August 9 presidential election, which he says he has won by 80 percent. The opposition accuses the power of electoral fraud.

On Sunday, nearly 400 Belarusian athletes joined the president’s protesters, calling for new elections.

Woohoo! Belarusian OMON (riot police) is powerless against Belarusian women. 10 thousand people participated today in the Women’s March in Minsk. Riot police tried to block the streets and disperse the protests without success. pic.twitter.com/hfXPHWsEQT

– Franco Viacorka (@franakviacorka) August 29, 2020