Security forces conduct anti-riot exercise at penal colony

November 21, Pozirk. Police and internal troops have conducted a riot control drill at a penal colony in the Mahiloŭ region as security forces flex their muscles in the run-up to the January 21-26 presidential poll.

“Belarusian law enforcement officers have carefully studied and analyzed foreign experience in responding to mass riots in correctional institutions and have drawn the appropriate conclusions. The main task is to prevent this from happening in our country,” the interior ministry said in its statement.

It quoted Interior Minister Ivan Kubrakoŭ, in charge of the training, as saying that opponents could “try to influence the mindsets of convicts serving their sentences at penal colonies.”

Kubrakoŭ ruled out the possibility of riots in Belarus. “I understand perfectly well that after the exercise, people abroad will say that we are expecting something, that there is tension in society. Nothing like that! Belarus is an island of safety,” he stated.

The drill included a performance by a combined group of officers from of various units.

Apart from Kubrakoŭ, the training was observed by Dźmitryj Hora, chairman of the Investigative Committee; Interior Troops Commander Mikałaj Karpiankoŭ; Aleh Matkin, chief of the Penal Department; and Ihar Ščarbienia, chief of the Mahiloŭ region’s police.

The drill was part of a three-day large scale security exercise being held from November 19 to November 22.

As part of the exercise, security forces in Mahiloŭ also practiced arresting unauthorized rally participants and preventing demonstrators from blocking roads. In addition, OMON riot police and internal troops practiced liberating a populated area from armed militants.

“We preview situations where members of election commission and people in the street may be in danger,” Kubrakoŭ said in a reference to the upcoming poll. “It is necessary to promptly use riot control gear, arms and hardware. We are ready for it.”

On the same day, Committee for State Security (KGB) officers held a drill in Hrodna to test government agencies’ responses to mockup acts of terrorism.

The interior ministry’s exercise included drills in suppressing protests, blocking traffic and arresting dissenters at polling stations.

Security forces also practiced responses to hypothetical attacks on election officials.

Kubrakoŭ said the drills across Belarus were designed to address worst-case scenarios after the ministry had analyzed the 2020 postelection protests. 

Last night, security forces reportedly conducted a mock hostage-rescue operation at a Minsk mall.

Meanwhile, the defense ministry reported on November 20 that it deployed officers to the Hožski training ground for marksmanship and close-quarter battle training.

Elections Politics Security

Elections, Politics, Security

KGB holding counterterrorism drill in city near Poland

November 21, Pozirk. The Committee for State Security (KGB) is testing state agencies’ response to mockup acts of terrorism in Hrodna and surrounding areas as a part of the ongoing four-day command staff exercise being conducted by the interior ministry. …

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