“Several dozen security officials lined up, put up shields and moved on people in the area of the“ Magnit ”shopping center,” the agency reported.
It is noted that the line of riot police is trying to push back the protesters, who, in turn, are hiding in the courtyards.
Eyewitnesses said that after several protesters smashed the windows of a police bus with stones, law enforcement agencies opened fire with rubber bullets.
The protesters attempted to hide in Pavlov Park. Pinpoint detentions began there.
As the Associated Press photographer Sergei Grits told the agency, near the Pushkinskaya metro station, people in black camouflage, helmets and without identification marks broke his camera.
“The memory cards were taken from me and six other colleagues. Two of them had their badges torn off on purpose, ”he added.
Earlier, in Minsk, near the Pushkinskaya metro station, the arrests of protesters began.
The press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus reported that more than 2 thousand people were detained in the republic for participating in protests. The day before, the security forces in Minsk used special means to disperse the protesters.