Belarus police uses water cannon, batons to break up anti-Lukashenko protests
Protests in Belarus
Belarus security officials on Sunday used water cannon and batons on protesters who were demanding fresh presidential election.
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Reports said police detained several protesters beating them with their batons at a rally in Minsk. According to Russia's Interfax news agency, at least 50 people have been detained.
Lukashenko who has been in power since 1994 has been accused by the Opposition of fraudulently winning the elections even as several leaders have been arrested or fled abroad.Black-clad masked police were seen hitting protesters as demonstrators came out with umbrellas on Sunday afternoon.
The country has witnessed a series of protests ever since Alexander Lukashenko won the August 9 election with a landslide.
Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who fled the country has called for "new free and transparent elections" even as senior Belarus officials have been accused of fraud and human rights abuses.
Demonstrators have been demanding Lukashenko's removal for months amid large scale protests even as the EU has imposed sanctions on the country including the United States, Britain and Canada.
Lukashenko had on Saturday visited jailed Opposition leaders. "I am trying to convince not only your supporters but the whole of society that one needs to look at things more broadly," the 66-year-old leader said in a video release.
"The aim of the president is to hear everyone's' opinion," Lukashenko's press service said amid large scale protests against his rule in the country.