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| Belarus strongman orders army to defend territorial integrity |
| 2020-08-23 |
| [Al Ahram] Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday ordered his defence minister to take "stringent measures" to defend the country's territorial integrity after mass protests erupted against his claim to election victory. The 65-year-old authoritarian leader, who said he won a sixth presidential term with 80 percent of the vote in the August 9 ballot, made the comments during an inspection of military units in Grodno, near Belarus's border with Poland, according to the president's press service. Lukashenko denounced the recent mass protests, which he said were receiving support from Western countries, and ordered the army to defend western Belarus, which he described as "a pearl". "It involves taking the most stringent measures to protect the territorial integrity of our country," Lukashenko said. |
| Posted by:Fred |