Rights group: More than 200 women detained at Minsk protest

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Police in the capital of Belarus have cracked down sharply on a women’s protest march demanding the authoritarian president’s resignation.

They arrested more than 200 people on Saturday including an elderly woman who has become a symbol of the six weeks of protest that have roiled the country.

More than 2,000 women took part in the march in Minsk. Such marches have become a regular feature of the unprecedented wave of large, persistent protests against President Alexander Lukashenko.

The protests began after the Aug. 9 presidential election, which officials said gave Lukashenko a sixth term in office with 80% support. Opponents and some poll workers say the results were rigged.