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Riot police break up unauthorized march in Minsk, some 10 people reported arrested

Police in riot control gear broke up a march that hundreds sole entrepreneurs and sympathizers staged through Minsk on Monday afternoon.

The protesters were forced out of Independence Square, where they had arrived to demand a meeting with Prime Minister Syarhey Sidorski, and then split into several groups and scattered by riot police. Some 10 people were said to have been arrested.

An estimated crowd of between 1,500 and 2,000 marched on the House of Government after an unauthorized rally held at Kastrychnitskaya Square in protest against the government’s restrictive policy toward sole entrepreneurs.

The protesters walked on sidewalks along Independence Avenue but entered the road at the busy intersection between the city’s thoroughfare and Lenin Street, bringing traffic to a halt. However, policemen pushed the crowd back to the sidewalk.

Armored police prisoner vans followed the protesters as they continued moving toward Independence Square, where the House of Government is located.

As the crowd reached the square, they were confronted by a heavy police presence. Speaking through a loudspeaker, Interior Minister Uladzimir Navumaw accused the demonstrators of “paralyzing the entire city” and warned that police would use force if the crowd did not disperse within 10 minutes.

The protesters were then forced out of the square and turned their way back. At least three demonstrators were grabbed and bundled into police vehicles as police cleared the square.

The crowd marched just a few dozen meters when they were separated into several groups and dispersed.