President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus has accused the opposition of trying to stage a coup, amid widespread anger over a disputed election.
Speaking as opposition leaders formed a council to organise a transfer of power, he said: “We definitely consider this as an attempt to seize power.”
The opposition contests the official results of the 9 August poll, which gave Mr Lukashenko 80% of the vote.
The country has since seen 10 days of street protests and strikes.
The protesters allege massive vote-rigging and say the winner was opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya – who officially secured only about 10% of votes.
There were no independent election observers.
