Belarus: defiant protesters flood Minsk demanding Lukashenko’s removal

Defence minister’s threat to call in army fails to quell protests sparked by disputed election

Defiant protesters have flooded central Minsk again in a sign that even a threat to use the army was not enough to quell the uprising against Belarus’s authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko.

The vast square outside the parliament was turned into a sea of red and white by protesters waving the traditional Belarusian flag adopted by the protest movement, and chanting “Resign!” and “Put Lukashenko in a police van!”. Unofficial estimates put the crowd at 150,000 people or more.

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