Belarus president Lukashenko brandishes a rifle as protests flare up

Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Belarus’ capital city of Minsk over the weekend, demanding the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko following his contested re-election earlier this month.

Demonstrators marched towards Lukashenko’s residence at the Independence Square on Sunday, brandishing red and white flags to symbolise their opposition to the president. The president was shown in state media footage flying over the protests in a helicopter on Sunday, before landing at his residence and emerging wearing body armor and carrying an assault rifle in his hand. Shortly thereafter, a separate video circulated by state media showed the president thanking riot police outside his residence, prompting an outburst of applause from security officials. Belarusian authorities on Monday detained two leading opposition activists who have helped spearhead a wave of protests demanding the resignation of the country's authoritarian ruler of 26 years.