OMON (Belarus)

OMON (Russian: Отряд милиции особого назначения, romanized: Otryad militsii osobogo naznachenia, [ɐˈtrʲat mʲɪˈlʲit͡sɨ.ɪ ɐˈsobəvə nəznɐˈt͡ɕenʲɪjə], lit. 'Special Purpose Police Detachment') or AMAP (Belarusian: Атрад міліцыі асобага прызначэння, romanized: Atrad milicyji asobaha pryznačennia, [aˈtrat mʲiˈlʲit͡sɨ.i aˈsobaɣa prɨznaˈt͡ʂenʲːa]) is a riot police force under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus (MUS) that specialized in combat and patrolling in urban areas, counter-revolutionary, covert operation, crowd control and riot control when people or prisoners who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest, high-risk law enforcement situations, HUMINT, and internal security. OMON is part of the MUS's Patrol Service, and is considered to be the republic's riot police. Members of OMON wear balaclavas in order to keep their identity secret and avoid reprisals by the opposition.