Poland urges EU to hold extraordinary summit on Belarus after Minsk clashes

Poland on Monday called for an emergency European Union summit on the situation in Belarus after a night of clashes in Minsk following a presidential election in the country.

“The authorities have used force against their citizens, who are demanding change in the country,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a statement. “We must support the Belarusian people in their quest for freedom,” AFP quoted him as saying.

The Belarusian Central Election Commission said on Monday that President Alexander Lukashenko won a landslide re-election victory. Following the voting on Sunday, bloody clashes began between riot police and thousands of protesters who said the poll was rigged.