OREANDA-NEWS. Law enforcement officers in Minsk used tear gas and stun cartridges on unauthorized actions of pensioners because of the aggression of protesters. This was reported by Roman Lashkevich, representative of for the press service of the Minsk City Executive Committee’s militia department.

A protest action began in the Belarusian capital on Monday afternoon, in which mainly people of retirement age participated. Initially, they gathered on Independence Square near the Government House, from where they moved in a column along the Independence Avenue. Participants of the action periodically went out onto the roadway, because of which militiamen were forced to partially block traffic and jams formed. The final destination of the protesters was the metro station Academy of Sciences, from where they gradually dispersed.

“There was the use of stun cartridges… and tear gas at the moment when citizens began to show aggression against law enforcement officers,” Lashkevich said. “A shot was fired from the minibus into the air with a stun cartridge,” he added.

The number of those detained at an unauthorized mass event is being defined, Lashkevich said.