WATER CANNONS BLAST MINSK MARCH.
MOSCOW Tens of thousands of people marched through the centre of the Belarusian capital Minsk on Sunday to demand that authorities free political prisoners, prompting police to turn water cannon on them.
The march is the latest in a series of rallies in Belarus since an Aug. 9 election in which President Alexander Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory. His opponents say it was rigged to hand him a sixth term in power.
More than 100,000 people rallied in Minsk, the opposition news channel Nexta said. Official estimates are usually lower.
Belarusian police on Sunday used water cannon mounted on armoured police vehicles to disperse protesters and detained scores of protesters, Interfax news agency reported and videos on social media showed.