Belarus crowds defy heavy military presence to demand end to Lukashenko's rule

Huge crowds of protesters on Sunday flooded the Belarusian capital of Minsk, braving a massive deployment of forces to urge strongman Alexander Lukashenko to quit power.

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have taken to the streets over the past three weekends and Sunday's event may have been larger still.

Troops, water cannon, armoured personnel carriers and armoured reconnaissance vehicles were deployed to the city centre but protesters from all walks of life - from parents with children to students and even priests - rallied in a show of defiance.

Authorities said at least 100 protesters were detained.

Unprecedented demonstrations broke out after Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state for 26 years, claimed re-election with 80 per cent of the vote on August 9.

Opposition rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya says she won the vote but Lukashenko's security forces have detained thousands of protesters, many of whom accuse police of beatings and torture. Several people have died in the crackdown.

Buoyed by a show of support from Russia, Lukashenko has rejected calls for new elections.

Western countries fear a loud show of support for protesters could provoke a Russian military intervention at a moment when Europe is also weighing how to respond to the suspected poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Lithuania's foreign minister urged the European Union to impose sanctions on Belarus and counter Russia's influence. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have imposed travel bans on Lukashenko and 29 other Belarusian officials without waiting for the rest of the EU to act, signalling impatience with the bloc's cautious approach.

On Sunday, the protesters marched towards Lukashenko's residence at the Independence Palace where they chanted "Tribunal" and "How much are you getting paid?" Many say they will keep taking to the streets until he quits.

"Lukashenko must go," said Nikolai Dyatlov, a 32-year-old protester. "Why is our legitimately elected president located in a different country?" he asked, referring to Tikhanovskaya.

Another protester, 40-year-old Anastasia Bazarevich, said: "Half of the village where my grandma lives comes out and protests every night."

Russia has said it will respond to any Western attempts to "sway the situation". Putin is keen to unify Russia and Belarus, and Moscow has accompanied its recent offers of military aid with calls for tighter integration.

Lukashenko has in the past ruled out outright unification and sought to play Moscow off against the West but his options are now limited.

On Thursday, Lukashenko hosted Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and said the two countries had managed to agree on issues they "could not agree earlier," and that he planned to "dot all the i's" with Putin in Moscow in the next few weeks.