Withstanding icy, cold winds, protesters in Belarus on Sunday marched on the streets demanding the resignation of authoritarian leader
Alexander Lukashenko.

Belarus has been hit by mass protests since the opposition claimed that
the August 9 presidential election, in which Lukashenko won, was rigged.

As Lukashenko claimed his sixth term in the office, opponents claimed
that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who contested the elections in lieu of her jailed husband, was the
true winner. While she is currently in exile in Lithuania,
she acknowledged protesters who had gathered “despite repressions,
violence and cold”.

“They resist Lukashenko’s regime because the people of Belarus want
to live in a democratic and free country,” she wrote on Twitter.

Also Read | Thousands march in Belarus opposition rally in Minsk

The Viasna rights group said dozens of demonstrators were detained in
Minsk as authorities struck them with water cannons and blocked access to areas
of the city centre.

Protestors showed their support to the opposition by hitting the streets
waving their red and white flag, in an attempt to thwart the police crackdown.

The opposition-leaning news site Nasha Niva said protesters had
organised at least 100 separate gatherings in Minsk and its suburbs.

The protests were different than the previous weekend, with functioning
metro stations and access to mobile internet, an AFP correspondent said.

The European Union imposed sanctions on Lukashenko and his allies citing
election rigging and a violent police crackdown on protesters.

Seen as another attempted crackdown on dissent, Belarus on Thursday said
it will temporarily close its land border in late December to curb the spread
of the coronavirus.