Belarus detains at least 400 as anti-Lukashenko protests continue

Police in Belarus on Sunday detained nearly 400 people in the latest protests against Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.

For three months running, tens of thousands have taken to the streets of the capital Minsk and other cities every Sunday to protest against the disputed re-election of Lukashenko, who's been in power for more than two decades.

This week the protesters were also reaching out to US president-elect Joe Biden.

Local media reported a heavy police presence, with human rights group Viasna reporting that at least 395 people were detained across the country, mainly in the Minsk.

Olympic decathlete Andrei Kravchenko and the 2008 Miss Belarus pageant winner Olga Khizhinkova were among those detained, according to media reports.

The demonstrators are demanding power be handed over to Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a political novice who ran for president against Lukashenko on August the ninth and who is now in exile in Lithuania.