Arrests as tens of thousands protest in Belarus capital

Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of the Belarusian capital for a new march as police said they had detained some 250 people.

Despite an intensifying crackdown, demonstrators gathered in Minsk and were heading towards the Palace of Independence, President Alexander Lukashenko's residence, an AFP correspondent said. 

Mr Lukashenko is facing a groundswell of public anger after declaring a landslide win in last month's presidential election that his opponents say was rigged.

Mr Lukashenko denies these allegations.

"Some 250 people were detained in various districts of the capital," the interior ministry said in a statement today, adding that those detained were carrying flags and "offensive" placards.

Access to mobile internet was limited and central metro stations closed, with authorities moving police vans, military vehicles and barbed wire into the centre ahead of the protest.

Belarusians have been demonstrating against Mr Lukashenko's disputed re-election for a month, with more than 100,000 people flooding the streets of Minsk for four straight weekends.

The new march came as Mr Lukashenko's security forces have stepped up arrests of protesters and senior opposition figures who are still in Belarus.

The opposition announced the protest slogan "We won't let him sell the country" ahead of Mr Lukashenko's first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin since demonstrations began, which is set to take place in Russia tomorrow.

Analysts say Mr Putin may seek to exploit Mr Lukashenko's political vulnerability to wring concessions from him, but any agreements compromising Belarus's sovereignty and independence are likely to enrage Belarusian protesters further.

After a massive protest last Sunday, Maria Kolesnikova, one of three prominent women opposition figures, was jailed after she resisted expulsion and tore up her passport.

More than 600 people were detained last Sunday in one of the largest waves of arrests since the early days of the demonstrations.

Yesterday, masked riot police violently detained dozens of women demonstrators and threw them into vans during a smaller protest in Minsk.

Presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who the protest movement says won the vote on 9 August but was forced out of the country, paid tribute to demonstrators ahead of the march.

She was forced into exile in neighbouring EU member state Lithuania.

"Over the past month we have become a truly heroic people," Ms Tikhanovskaya, a political unknown until the election, said in a video address.

"We are continuing our fight for freedom," she said.