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Crisis in Belarus

Police push demonstrators back outside Belarusian embassy in Moscow

Protesters have been gathering in front of the Belarusian embassy since Sunday, the day of the presidential election in the country

© Mikhail Skamyin/TASS

MOSCOW, August 12./TASS/. Police on duty at the Belarusian embassy in central Moscow are pushing back the people who got together outside the diplomatic mission to protest against the results of Sunday’s presidential election, TASS reports from the site.

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Police, who took no action for two hours, only asking pedestrians to walk by without stopping, have formed a chain and began to push the protesters back. Most protesters are now walking towards Kitai Gorod metro station.

Around 400 people got together in front of the embassy earlier in the day. Many of them had their faces painted in the colors of the Belarusian flag. They were carrying flowers and banners.

Protesters have been gathering in front of the Belarusian embassy since Sunday, the day of the presidential election in the country.

After exit poll results were revealed late on August 9, suggesting incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko’s landslide victory, many cities and towns across Belarus saw mass protests that in some cases escalated into clashes with the police. Protests continued Monday night into Tuesday morning and Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. At least one person was killed.

The country’s Interior Ministry said about 3,000 people had been detained while dozens of police officers and protesters were injured.

Preliminary results show incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko securing his reelection with 80.08% of the vote, while his main rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya received 10.09%. Tikhanovskaya challenged the results, refusing to recognize them. She also filed a complaint with the national election commission. Tikhanovskaya then left the country and has been in Lithuania since Tuesday.

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