Brest, City in France

Minsk, Aug 31 Tens of thousands of protesters against took to the streets in Belarus, facing off against riot police to demonstrate against President Alexander Lukashenko, the media reported on Monday.On Sunday, a large numbers of riot police faced off against lines of protesters carrying balloons, flowers and red-and-white opposition flags, the BBC reported.Police cordoned off areas such as Independence Square in the capital, Minsk, and the Interior Ministry reported at least 140 arrests.While some protesters chanted "disgrace" and "leave" protesters, others on the road to try to prevent riot police from moving.Some mocked Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, on his 66th birthday, carrying a cockroach puppet and chanting "happy birthday, you rat".One large group of protesters marched towards Lukashenko's residence at the Independence Palace, which was heavily protected by riot police and water cannon vehicles.Armoured personnel carriers were seen moving in the area, although reports later said they were also seen leaving and that the crowds were dispersing largely peacefully.Other smaller protests were reported in towns such as Brest and Grodno.Meanwhile, journalists continue to face issues reporting the unrest.On Saturday, the authorities withdrew the accreditation of 17 reporters, most of them Belarusian citizens who have been reporting for foreign media outlets.Two journalists with the BBC's Russian service were among those affected.In a statement, the BBC said it condemned "in the strongest possible terms this stifling of independent journalism".Belarus has been witnessing mass protests after Lukashenko won a sixth term in the August 9 elections.According to official results, he won more than 80 per cent of the votes and opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya garnered only 10 per cent.There were no independent observers and the opposition has alleged massive vote rigging.The European Union has also refused to recognize the results and threatened to impose sanctions.( With inputs from IANS )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Home

City

Latest News

Cricket

LT Premium

National

International

Maharashtra

Opinions

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Nagpur

Entertainment

Photos

Business

Technology

Sports

Lifestyle

Social Viral

Lokmat Games

Health

Lok Sabha Election 2024

Heatwave In India

Mumbai Water Cut

Maharashtra Lok Sabha Election

IPL 2024

Salman Khan

BrestFOLLOW

Brest, Latest News

Football :Lyon edge past Brest to stay on top of the table

Brest, Feb 20 Lyon survived a scare against Brest before edging out the hosts 3-2 in a Ligue ... ...

Football :Pochettino celebrates first win with PSG, Lyon stays on top

Paris, Jan 10 Mauricio Pochettino secured his first victory as Paris Saint-Germain coach after his team eased past ... ...

International :Russian troops prepare for military drills in Belarus

Moscow, Sep 16 Units of the Russian Armed Forces based in the Central Military District are preparing for ... ...

International :Thousands take to Belarus streets against Lukashenko

Minsk, Aug 31 Tens of thousands of protesters against took to the streets in Belarus, facing off against ... ...

Football :Former PSG goalkeeper Daniel Bernard dies at the age of 70

The former Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Daniel Bernard has died at the age of 70, the club said on Thursday. ...