Power structures use special means to disperse protesters in Minsk. This was announced on Sunday, October 18, by a TASS correspondent.
It is noted that loud bangs, similar to the explosions of stun grenades, were heard in the area of the Belarus department store on Partizansky Prospekt.
“Several warning shots were fired into the air with rubber bullets, after the aggressive crowd threw stones at the service vehicles and law enforcement officers,” the police department of the Minsk city executive committee told Interfax.
At the same time, as an eyewitness told RIA Novosti, on Partizansky Prospekt in Minsk, there was a clash between security officials and participants in the opposition march. He noted that in the area of the intersection of the avenue and Kuleshov Street, security officials ran out to the protesters and began throwing something similar to flash-noise grenades.
As a result, the crowd retreated in the direction of the Belarus department store.
An opposition march unauthorized by the authorities is currently taking place in the Belarusian capital. To date, 50 people have been detained. Earlier on the same day, Minsk police confirmed the detention of the protesters, without naming the number of citizens.
Telecom operators have limited access to the Internet amid ongoing protests. Buses with security forces, special equipment and army trucks were pulled into the center of Minsk.
Presidential elections were held in Belarus on August 9. According to the Central Election Commission, the current head of state, Alexander Lukashenko, won. Those who disagreed with this outcome took to the streets, and the mass protests have continued to this day.
Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya did not recognize the election results and called on the international community to support the demonstrators. The EU and the USA were considered illegitimate President Lukashenko.