Numerous arrests in Belarus as women rally against Lukashenko

Women in Belarus took to the streets of Minsk on Saturday in a peaceful protest against President Alexander Lukashenko, with many detained by the police.

Women shouted "shame" as police forced protesters into vans, including Nina Baginskaya, 73, a veteran of the movement.

"We won't forget! We won't forgive," they shouted, and called for Lukashenko to be taken away in a prison van, at a gathering near the Komarovsky Market.

Drivers passing by sounded their horns in solidarity with the protesters.

More than 100 women were detained at a similar rally last week, during a violent clampdown on protestors by masked police.

The march, under the banner "March of Female Solidarity," wound through several streets before police intervened.

Protesters shouted, "Long live Belarus" and carried the historic white-red-white striped flag which has become a symbol of the opposition. Some carried umbrellas with the colours of the revolution, as police have repeatedly seized the flags.

The protesters called for new elections without Lukashenko, for the release of all political prisoners, and for police violence to be prosecuted.

Women were also encouraged to demonstrate in other cities in Belarus, as on Saturdays in the past, by Girl Power Belarus, who posted the call on Telegram.

Protests have rattled the authoritarian country since large swathes of the population refused to believe the results of the August 9 election, which authorities said gave Lukashenko more than 80 per cent of the vote.

He has ruled for over a quarter of a century and is often referred to as Europe's last dictator.