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Crisis in Belarus

Minsk authorities put damage from riots at over $200,000

According to the officials, the protesters damaged bus stops, traffic lights, road signs, tiled surfaces and more than a hundred containers

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Protests in Belarus: more arrests and clashes in Minsk residential districts

MINSK, August 12. /TASS/. The authorities in Minsk have estimated the damage from the riots in the capital at more than 500,000 Belarusian rubles ($202,570), BelTA news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a local official.

"The damage from the riots in Minsk exceeds 500,000 Belarusian rubles, according to preliminary data," the news agency reported, referring to Vladimir Lebed, who heads the economy and energy department at the Minsk city executive committee.

According to the official, the protesters damaged bus stops, traffic lights, road signs, tiled surfaces and more than a hundred containers. This damage is equivalent to the price tag of 9 lung ventilators, which could have been supplied to hospitals, he noted. All public utility services in Minsk are taking immediate measures to ensure order in the city, the official said. During the protests, hundreds of landscape design compositions and flowerbeds were damaged. The restoration effort is expected to take several weeks and could cost dozens of thousands of Belarusian rubles.

Belarus held the presidential election on August 9. After the results of exit polls were announced, according to which incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won 80.08% of the vote, mass protests flared up in Minsk and other cities, which spiraled into clashes with police. The protests continued at nights on August 10 and August 11. According to the Interior Ministry, several thousands of protesters were detained. One person was killed when he tried to throw an unidentified explosive device at the law enforcement officers, but it exploded in his hand. The Health Ministry on Tuesday said more than 200 people injured during the unrest were in hospitals.

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