Alexander Lukashenko shuts Belarusian borders, replaces interior minister as mass protests continue
In this file photo taken on August 09, 2020 Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko looks on as he votes at a polling station during the presidential election in Minsk.
As Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko faces increasing pressure over his resignation, he has intensified the efforts to curtail the mass movement and in the latest move shut down the country's borders and replaced the interior minister.
Minsk said it has closed its borders with Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine over the Covid-19 pandemic. But, the Belarusian leader has been at loggerheads with his European Union neighbours since the country stepped into a political turmoil post his re-election over serious allegations that the polls were rigged.
Cars arriving in Belarus were denied entry from 1400 GMT, and in few hours the border was closed for outgoing cars, said Rustamas Liubajevas, head of the Lithuanian border guard, as quoted by news agency Reuters. He also said the new order came without an advance warning.
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Minsk has also appointed Ivan Kubrakov, the head of police who is largely responsible for the crackdown on protesters demonstrating in Minsk, as the interior minister.
Meanwhile, streets of Minsk were largely deserted, though the main stories and pharmacies were open on Monday morning as the nationwide strike began following the expiry of the deadline for Lukashenko to step down, as reported by news agency AFP.
Prominent opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had given Lukashenko until Sunday to resign, stop violence against demonstrators and release political prisoners, failing which would otherwise lead to a general strike from Monday.
Since Lukashenko's re-election, there have been mass protests in the country for the last two months with tens of thousands participating in these demonstrations every Sunday.
Many people have died and several others were arrested as government continued its crackdown on the protesters.