Belarusian security forces have detained protesters and fired water cannon to disperse crowds as thousands took to the streets of Minsk against the abrupt inauguration of veteran President Alexander Lukashenko.
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Ignoring calls for an end to his 26-year grip on power, Lukashenko was sworn in for a sixth term after an election that the opposition and several foreign governments say was rigged.
The ceremony would normally have been publicised as a major state occasion but was instead held without warning following Lukashenko's claim of a landslide victory in the August 9 vote.
The former Soviet republic's opposition, which has staged more than six weeks of mass protests demanding his resignation, denounced the inauguration as illegitimate.
"His secret inauguration is an attempt to seize power," said Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Lukashenko's main opponent who fled into exile after the election.
The United States and the European Union are drawing up sanctions against officials involved in the election and a subsequent crackdown on protesters by the security forces.
Lukashenko placed his right hand on a copy of the constitution and swore the oath of office at a ceremony attended by several hundred people.
The 66-year-old leader said the country needed safety and consensus "on the brink of a global crisis," an apparent reference to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I cannot, I have no right to abandon the Belarusians," he said.
Thousands of protesters marched through the streets carrying red-and-white opposition flags, as passing cars honked their horns in solidarity.
One placard read "if you have 80 per cent, why are you afraid of us?" - alluding to Lukashenko's stated 80 per cent vote share.
Protesters formed human chains to block off some streets and caused traffic snarls.
Occasional scuffles broke out as demonstrators tried to stop others getting detained.
Local media footage showed helmeted riot police pinning protesters to the ground and marching or carrying them away into detention.
Several people were injured after water cannon were fired, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.
More than 10 people had been taken into custody, the official Belta news agency said while the human rights group Spring 96 said it was at least 116.
Australian Associated Press
