MINSK, September 6. /TASS/. Pepper spray was used near riot police cordons around Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s residence in central Minsk, Independence Palace, where thousands of protesters gathered on Sunday, a TASS correspondent reports from the site.

It is yet unknown who did it.

The protesters stepped aside for a while and when they came close to the police cordons again pepper spray was used again.

Grass-root rallies in protest of the results of the recent presidential elections in Belarus have been held practically every day for nearly a month. Hundreds take part in rallies on working days and tens of thousands gather for protest actions on weekends.

On August 9, Belarus held its sixth presidential election since declaring independence in 1991. According to the final results of Sunday’s voting, the incumbent president, Alexander Lukashenko, won 80.10% of the vote. His closest rival, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, scored 10.12% of votes but refused to recognize the voting outcome. She soon left Belarus for Lithuania

Mass protests and clashes with police took place in Minsk and other Belarusian cities after exit poll results were made public. As a result, some 7,000 people were detained, dozens of law enforcers and demonstrators were injured during the first days of protests. The authorities demand illegal rallies be stopped, while the Coordination Council set up by the opposition calls for further protests.