2024-02-21 13:23:06
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called on law enforcement agencies to organize patrols with light weapons on the streets of Belarusian cities to ensure people’s safety, Reuters reported, citing BTA.
“People should feel safe at home, at work, on the street, at any time of the day,” Lukashenko said in a video of a meeting with the country’s top security agencies, published on the Pul Pervava website, the state media that reflects Lukashenko’s activities.
Lukashenko said that while the crime rate in Belarus is decreasing, the country is at risk of crimes of an “extremist nature”.
“Today, this is the most important aspect of maintaining law and order – suppressing the actions of bandits and preventing the loss of souls who do not yet fully understand how foreign curators are targeting them,” he says in the video.
“I’m warning the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB, the special services, everyone, the prosecutor’s office – everyone: we must take control of this. Our patrol boys must be on the streets… Patrols must be armed with light weapons, at least pistols. “
Lukashenko backed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, allowing Moscow to use its territory to launch the war, and last year he agreed to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons in his country.
He said last week that several “saboteurs”, including Ukrainian and Belarusian nationals, had been detained on the border between the two countries during a “counter-terrorist operation” and that such groups were detained “two or three times a week”.