MINSK, February 20. /TASS/. The number of people's militia in Belarus could be up to 150,000 people, Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said on Monday, after the Belarusian Security Council considered the draft law On the People's Militia.
"We have made calculations, the number is somewhere between 100,000 to 150,000 people across Belarus. But since these are volunteers, there may be more," the SB. Belarus Today media outlet quoted the defense chief as saying.
The people's militia will be in greater demand in rural areas, but their units may also be created in major cities if local authorities deem it necessary, he added.
"We are watching how the conflict in the south (in Ukraine - TASS) evolves, and we see that we need such a body, in addition to the system for ensuring the defense capability of our country," the defense minister said. The main task for the people’s militia is "first and foremost to protect their homes, their property, and to carry out law enforcement measures together with the police," Khrenin said.
Earlier, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who initiated the creation of territorial defense troops and militia in the country, noted that the militia could be a reserve for territorial defense, and in case of warfare, it could be transformed into a guerrilla movement. According to the presidential press service, the security agencies have already tested the mechanism for creating a militia subdivision.
This experience, as well as the numerical strength, tasks, and actions of the people's militia were discussed on Monday at a meeting of the State Security Council, after which its chief Alexander Volfovich explained that the people's militia would be a new type of unit, designed to defend the country if needed. He stressed that Belarus posed no threat to anyone, but was ready and was taking all steps to defend its western and southern borders.