RALLIES, DATA LEAK KEEP PRESSURE ON LUKASHENKO

More than 100,000 people marched through Minsk on Sunday on the sixth straight weekend of protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, keeping up the pressure on the veteran Belarusian leader to quit.

Many walked in a vast column that stretched back several kilometres, decked out in red-and-white opposition colours and chanting “go away” as helmeted riot police patrolled the streets with water cannons on hand, a witness said.

Several protesters were dragged from the crowd by security forces. In the city centre, riot police rhythmically beat their shields as a warning sound while several people threw glass bottles at them.

Videos shared by local media outlets showed security forces in helmets or masks hauling protesters off the streets in simultaneous protests in other cities.

In tandem with the protests, anonymous hackers leaked the personal data of 1,000 police officers in retaliation for a crackdown in which thousands of people have been detained, many complaining of beatings and torture in jail. The government has denied abusing detainees.

AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES A woman is hustled away by law enforcement officers amid a protest in Minsk, Belarus on Sunday. Mass protests were called by the opposition movement for an end to the regime of authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko.