Belarusian Interior Minister Yuriy Karayev said on Wednesday that security forces could use combat ammunition against those involved in “sabotage or terrorist attacks”.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko yesterday called the strikes the activities of “organized criminal groups” and announced that Belarus was beginning to face a terrorist threat.
Karajev, who has been sanctioned by the European Union (EU) for suppressing protests, said in an interview that weapons should not be used against peaceful protesters, but that “if a person commits sabotage or a terrorist attack, the police are attacked, of course by all means available to the police; from physical strength to combat weapons “.
Protests against the rigging of the presidential election have continued in Belarus since 9 August. About 15,000 people have been detained and several hundred injured during the protests. The biggest protests take place on Sundays.
According to the official results of the presidential election in Belarus on August 9, the current head of state Lukashenko won 80.1% of the vote, and opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovska – 10.1%, but the opposition believes that the election results are fake and Tikhanovska has won the election convincingly.
The European Union and other Western countries have also refused to recognize the election results.
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