In one instance, a young woman suffered a face laceration on Saturday after she pulled a stocking mask off of an officer and he struck back by beating her.

Viasna, a human rights organisation on the ground in Belarus, said at least 70 people were detained in the capital city. A dpa reporter saw several female protesters being forced into vans.

The anti-Lukashenko protests that have swept across Belarus are banned by the government, although rallies by his supporters are allowed to go ahead.

A small crowd of supporters gathered at Victory Square on Saturday, while the much larger rally of Lukashenko's opponents met at Freedom Square.

A main theme of the latter protest was the imprisonment of opposition politician Maria Kalesnikava.

"Give us back our Masha," the women chanted.

Kalesnikava, 38, is a member of the praesidium of a coordination council seeking a peaceful transition of power in Belarus.

Her supporters claim she was violently detained by unidentified masked men in central Minsk earlier this week, and now faces a charge of attempting to overthrow Lukashenko.

She was moved to a different prison outside Minsk on Saturday. The opposition wrote on Twitter that they had not been told the reason for the move.

Saturdays in Minsk have been marked by women's protests in recent weeks. A much larger rally is set for Sunday in which tens of thousands of people are expected to turn out.

Australian Associated Press