Police in Belarus fired warning shots and reportedly used stun grenades to disperse protests, as thousands took to the streets of Minsk on Sunday demanding the resignation of veteran leader of 26 years, President Alexander Lukashenko.

Opposition protesters were arrested during the violent clashes with riot police in the latest of what have been weekly demonstrations in the capital. They have continued for nearly three months since the disputed presidential election in which Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory.

Main opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya denounced the vote as a fraud and has been backed by Western leaders who refuse to recognize the result.

Lukashenko this week appointed a new interior minister and police chief for Minsk and said he would quit only "in your dreams." He also said that any protester who lays a hand on officers policing the protests should "at least leave without hands."

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After an initial police crackdown on protests that resulted in thousands of detentions and claims of torture in prisons, the authorities this month also threatened to use live ammunition to disperse protesters.

But despite Lukashenko's most recent threat on Friday to "take no prisoners," protesters on Sunday marched from central Minsk towards an old site of executions just outside the capital.

Witnesses said police used force to disperse the marchers and fired in the air in an apparent attempt to stop the protests.

It was unclear what kind of weapons were being used, but local media reports say at least one stun grenade was used by police.

Interior ministry spokeswoman Olga Chemodanova told AFP that a number of people had been detained but denied that police used stun grenades and other riot-control equipment against demonstrators.

Rights group Viasna said that 70 people had been detained, mostly in Minsk.
 

This week Belarus closed land borders with EU members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia as well as Ukraine, citing the coronavirus pandemic.

From Sunday, authorities also banned foreigners from entering the country via land border crossings.

Read More: Lukashenko says country faces "terrorist threats" from protestors after the opposition demanded his resignation and launched strike action.