Mass protests have flooded the capital for 12 consecutive weeks since a disputed election, increasing tension over the besathed 26-year-old leader who denies accusations that the vote was manipulated and says he does not aim to resign.
This week, Lukashenko partially closed the western border, replaced his domestic minister and said any protester who lays his hands on protest police officers “at least walks out of hands. “
Tens of thousands of people swept Minsk in at least two columns, the Nasha Niva newspaper reported.
The rights organization Vesna-96 published the names of 221 others who had been arrested.
High-ranking police have threatened to use firearms against protesters if necessary.
“The scenario is alarming and everyone’s temper is tense,” said one protester who called for anonymity over the phone.
“Buses and the police apparatus pass constantly in front of the column. It feels like other people are in a position of any kind of climbing. “
One witness told Reuters that insurrection police used force to disperse protesters who marched to Kurapaty, a site on the outskirts of Minsk that is a monument to those who were run through the Soviet secret police.
“People would arrive in a box near Kurapaty, the (police) buses would stop and chase other people at full speed, and then throw grenades at them, and throw them in the crowd,” the witness said by telephone on the condition of anonymity.
A guy dressed as a civilian chased a resident through a yard near a protest address by shooting a paintball gun at photographs posted through the RFE/RL media.
A video posted on the opposition’s social media showed a crowd of people shouting “We believe, we can, we will win!”Walking the streets. The video series may not be independently verified.
Mobile Internet in the capital was not available and several metro stations were briefly closed.