Over 100,000 hold anti-Lukashenko demo in Minsk

More than 100,000 demonstrators marched through Minsk on Sunday, calling for the authoritarian president of Belarus to resign. Lukashenko has ruled the nation with an iron fist since 1994, harshly repressing the opposition and the media. But the protesters' determination appears strong this time. The Interior Ministry said more than 400 people were detained on Sunday in Minsk.

The ministry also reported demonstrations took place in 16 other cities. Police set up rows of barbed wire and prisoner transport vehicles on Sunday and deployed thousands of servicemen to block off the city centre from demonstrators, but protesters came together outside the centre and marched toward the presidential residence on the city's outskirts. Lukashenko, a former collective farm director, has rejected any concessions or mediation attempts and has repeatedly accused Belarus' western neighbours of working to overthrow his government.