Belarus protest icon, among hundreds detained in Minsk

Belarus police have detained hundreds of women in the capital Minsk who had joined a march demanding that longtime President Alexander Lukashenko resign, reported British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Men in green uniforms and black balaclavas encircled female protesters who shouted "Only cowards beat women!"

Among the detained was Nina Bahinskaya, a 73-year-old great-grandmother who has become an icon of the protest movement, said the BBC report.

Mass protests are expected for the sixth straight Sunday over what was widely seen as a rigged election.

President Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, claimed an overwhelming victory in the 9 August poll, but a brutal crackdown on initial protests against the result only fuelled popular anger, the BBC report added.

Click BBC to read the detail original report.