Hundreds of protesters arrested by Belarusian police as 100,000 rally against Lukashenko

Tens of thousands of opposition supporters marched through the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Sunday calling for an end to strongman Alexander Lukashenko's rule, despite heavily armed police and troops blocking streets and detaining dozens of demonstrators.

Protests have now entered a third week since the disputed presidential election on August 9 in which Mr Lukashenko claimed victory, while opposition rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said she was the true winner.

An AFP journalist and local media estimated that more than 100,000 people came to Sunday's protest, equalling the scale of the rallies on previous weekends, the largest demonstrations the country has seen since independence from the USSR.

Some protesters gathered around Mr Lukashenko's official residence in the centre of Minsk, the Palace of Independence, which was guarded by a cordon of riot police and special forces with helmets and anti-riot shields, equipped with water cannons.

Sunday's rally fell on Lukashenko's 66th birthday and online opposition messages urged people to bring flowers and "creative" handmade gifts reflecting their attitude to the authoritarian leader.

Some chanted "Get out! We're coming for you on your birthday!"

Others held quirky items aloft including a cardboard model toilet with a sign urging Mr Lukashenko to "flush" himself away. Others carried a model coffin with "Dictatorship" written on the side and a picture of a giant cockroach, the nickname used by the opposition for Mr Lukashenko.

There were chants of "The rat is you and we're the people," reported local news site Nasha Niva, after Mr Lukashenko referred to protesters as "rats."

Thousands also held similar rallies in other Belarusian cities, including Brest and Grodno, local media reported.