MINSK, April 12 (Reuters) - Police in Belarus carried out spot checks on roads and at stations and airports on April 12 after a bomb blast tore through a crowded metro station in the capital Minsk on Monday evening, killing at least 12 people.
The defence ministry said 204 people were in hospital, 26 of them in a serious condition, after the rush-hour blast at one of Minsk’s busiest underground rail junctions close to the presidential headquarters.
President Alexander Lukashenko, the autocratic leader who has led the ex-Soviet country since 1994, said the explosion was an attempt to destabilise the country.
Authorities did not say who might be behind the blast — a rare act of wanton violence in the tightly policed country.
The explosive device, which had been packed with metal ball bearings and had a strength equivalent to 5-7 kgs of TNT, was apparently left under a platform bench.
Interior Minister Anatoly Kuleshov, quoted by news agencies, said it had probably been detonated by remote control. About 300 people were on the spot when it exploded as a train came into the station, he said.
Lukashenko, at odds with the West over his authoritarian rule, linked the explosion to a previous unsolved blast in 2008, saying: "I do not rule out that this was a gift from abroad."
Though the bombing resembled similar attacks in Russia, Belarus has no Islamic insurgency problem and no real history of political violence.
Belarus’s state security service put the death toll at 12 after the death of one injured person overnight. Wednesday was declared an official day of mourning.
The blast occurred as Belarus struggles with a damaging run on foreign currency which has prompted panic-buying.
Central Bank foreign currency reserves are at their lowest in two years and there is no new credit deal with the International Monetary Fund in sight.
"TIGHTENING OF SCREWS" FEARED
Lukashenko vowed on Monday to turn the country "inside-out" to find those responsible for the attack.
Lukashenko’s re-election for a fourth term in December led to street protests that were broken up by police.
Belarus shares borders with EU members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, and with Russia and Ukraine.
One opposition figure said he feared Lukashenko would use the blast to crack down even more harshly on political rivals.
"Regardless of who organised and ordered the blast, the government will be tempted to use it as an excuse to tighten the screws … I am afraid they will use it," said Anatoly Lebedko, leader of the opposition United Civic Party.
Grigory Kostusev of the Belarussian People’s Front, who ran against Lukashenko last December, told Reuters he thought the roots of the attack probably lay in Russia.
"The Belarussian special forces are not earning their bread. Unfortunately, they are very active when it comes to dealing with political rivals but they can not deal with a real threat from bandits," Kostusev added.
Monday’s blast took place at around 6 p.m. at the Oktyabrskaya metro station — Minsk’s busiest — about 100 metres (yards) from Lukashenko’s main headquarters.
On Tuesday there was a reduced service running on Minsk’s metro network and a heavy police presence at many stations.
People placed flowers and candles at the entry to Oktyabrskaya station in memory of the dead.
"I have a feeling of sadness and painful anger. This should not have happened to us. We are not the sort of country where this sort of thing happens," said Valentin Lepen, aged 70.
"We are in shock. Nobody thought that anything like this could happen in Minsk, anywhere but here," said Natalya, 28.
The European Union and the United States have imposed a travel ban on Lukashenko and his closest associates because of the Dec. 19 crackdown. He has said the opposition rally was an attempted coup financed by the West.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe monitors said the vote count was flawed and criticised police for being heavy-handed. The remarks angered Minsk, which forced the OSCE to close down its office there.
