MINSK, Belarus — A day before high-stakes talks in Russia, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, the embattled strongman leader of Belarus, deployed his security forces in large numbers to deter ongoing protests. But tens of thousands of people still took to the street on Sunday to once again clamor for his resignation. Despite a huge show of force by riot police officers, masked men and what looked like soldiers, crowds of protesters gathered in Minsk, the capital, and in several other cities, many of them waving the former national flag — a red and white banner that Mr. Lukashenko scrapped soon after coming to power in 1994. The authorities, in an effort to stop protesters from coordinating movements, also ordered telephone operators to cut mobile internet services, a tactic used during an early round of protests over the disputed presidential election on Aug. 9.

Source: New York Times September 13, 2020 20:13 UTC