Dozens of protestors detained in Belarus

Security forces in Belarus detained dozens of protesters on Sunday and used force, including water cannon and batons, to break up crowds demanding a new presidential election, TV footage showed.

Footage published by local news outlets showed police officers wearing black balaclavas dragging protesters into unmarked black vans and beating protesters with their batons at a rally that drew thousands onto the streets of Minsk, the capital.

One sequence showed a police van unleashing a powerful jet of water from a cannon into crowds, visibly pushing them back.

Belarus, a former Soviet republic closely allied with Russia, has been rocked by street protests and strikes since authorities announced that veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko had won an Aug. 9 vote by a landslide.

People have since taken to the streets every week to demand that Lukashenko step down and allow for a new election to be held.

Lukashenko, a former collective farm manager who has been in power since 1994, denies his win was the result of cheating.

Security forces have detained more than 13,000 people during a post-election crackdown, some of whom have been later freed.