On Sunday, during the last month of anti-government demonstrations after the controversial presidential election in August, Belarusian police detained more than 200 people in Minsk, human rights activists said.

Thousands took to the streets of the Belarusian capital and according to some Belarusian media outlets, the police used stun grenades to disperse the crowds.

The Vesna-96 rights group has confirmed that 205 people have so far been detained.

The Ministry of the Interior later announced that detentions had occurred, saying that those being detained had been "disturbing public order and resisting police officers," but it gave no figures.

Since August, President Alexander Lukashenko's opponents have staged frequent demonstrations, accusing him of manipulating the election in order to prolong his 26-year hold on power. He denies the deception of the voters and refused to withdraw.

This week, protest organizers asked people to assemble at hundreds of different locations all over Minsk before forming larger groups to make it harder for the police to control the crowd.

Following the death of 31-year-old anti-government protester Roman Bondarenko, who died in hospital earlier this month after what protesters alleged was a serious beating by security forces, street protests were re-ignited.

The Ministry of the Interior claimed responsibility for the death of Bondarenko, claiming he was killed in a clash with civilians.