MINSK, September 20. /TASS/. More than 10 people were detained during the protests in Minsk, Interior Ministry Spokesperson Olga Chemodanova told TASS on Sunday.

"More than 10 people were detained in Minsk, all of them for taking part in unauthorized rallies. People are using unregistered symbolic," the spokesperson said.

"We issued a warning this morning, but unfortunately people are coming to the roads, blocking the traffic. This entails criminal responsibility," she said. Two criminal cases were earlier launched in Minsk for similar actions.

Nationwide demonstrations have engulfed Belarus following the August 9 presidential election. According to the Central Election Commission’s official results, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won by a landslide, garnering 80.10% of the vote. His closest rival in the race, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, came in second, with 10.12% of the ballot. However, she refused to recognize the election’s outcome, and left Belarus for Lithuania. After the results of the exit polls were announced late on August 9, mass protests erupted in downtown Minsk and other Belarusian cities. During the early post-election period, the rallies snowballed into fierce clashes between the protesters and police. The current unrest is being cheered on by the opposition’s Coordination Council, which has been beating the drum for more protests. In response, the Belarusian authorities have castigated the ongoing turmoil and demanded that these unauthorized demonstrations be stopped.