The embattled Belarusian president is shown brandishing a rifle in official footage taken during protests in Minsk on 24 August. Alexander Lukashenko watched the demonstrations from his helicopter before a meeting with riot police outside his palace in clips released by his press service. He could be heard pledging to 'deal with' the protesters, after a crowd estimated at more than 200,000 gathered to call for his removal

•  Two opposition leaders arrested in Belarus after day of protest
• Belarus: defiant protesters flood Minsk demanding Lukashenko's removal

Defence minister’s threat to call in army fails to quell protests sparked by disputed election

Defiant protesters have flooded central Minsk again in a sign that even a threat to use the army was not enough to quell the uprising against Belarus’s authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko.

The vast square outside the parliament was turned into a sea of red and white by protesters waving the traditional Belarusian flag adopted by the protest movement and chanting “resign!” and “put Lukashenko in a police van!”. Unofficial estimates put the crowd at 150,000 people or more.

The Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, walked off stage to chants of 'step down' after a speech to workers at the Minsk tractor works on Monday. The factory is one of the large state-run industrial plants that are the pride of his Soviet-style economic model and core support base. During his speech, Lukashenko said he would be willing to hand over power after a referendum in an apparent attempt to pacify mass protests and strikes

• 'Resign!': Alexander Lukashenko heckled by factory workers in Minsk