MINSK, August 12. /TASS/. Riot police, interior ministry troops and other law enforcement units, deployed in downtown Minsk to prevent mass protests against the presidential election results, left city streets early on Wednesday.

A TASS correspondent reported that police cordons have been removed and traffic restored at main roads.

The protests in Minsk moved to residential districts on Tuesday, after almost the entire city center was blocked by riot police and security officers. Serious clashes were reported in the residential districts of Malinovka in the southwest, Uruchye in the northeast and Serebryanka in the south.

Almost immediately, police reinforcements arrived there to quell the unrest, including with the use of stun grenades and rubber bullets. In some places, protestors tried to erect barricades, but those attempts were quickly thwarted.

According to eyewitnesses, police and security forces were responding in a more decisive and tougher manner than the day before. Many passers-by who did not take part in the protest were apprehended. Officers stopped cars and detained passengers who wore white bracelets - a symbol of the protest.

There is still no official information about the number of detained or injured. Mobile internet was not available in the city for the third consecutive day. Mobile communications are working normally.

Journalists were also being treated in a tough manner, with several cases of use of force against accredited journalists being reported.

Late on Tuesday, BBC Russian service said on its website its journalists in Minsk were attacked by a group of men without insignia. According to the broadcaster’s website, a group of men wearing black uniforms approached the journalists. One of them demanded to show accreditation. After that, he snatched the press card from a correspondent’s neck, grabbed his camera and attempted to break it.

The three journalists had official accreditation cards issued by the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. All of them were wearing press vests and had their press cards on them.

On August 9, Belarus held its presidential election. Preliminary results show incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko securing his reelection with 80.08% of the votes, while his biggest rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya received 10.09% of the ballots cast. The other three candidates failed to get more than two percent each. After exit poll results were revealed late on August 9, many cities and towns across the country saw mass protests that in some cases turned into clashes with the police. The national interior ministry said some 3,000 people had been detained, dozens of police officers and protesters were injured. Moreover, law enforcement officers detained a few reporters. Tikhanovskaya challenged the results, refused to recognize them and said that she believes herself to be the elected president. She also filed a complaint with the national election commission.