Belarusian opposition leader Tikhanouskaya 'safe' in Lithuania after clashes
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Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanouskaya has joined her children in neighbouring Lithuania, its foreign minister said on Tuesday, after two nights of clashes following the contested re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.

The 37-year-old Tikhanouskaya emerged from obscurity a few weeks ago to mount the biggest challenge in years to Lukashenko’s rule, standing for election after her blogger husband was jailed.

“Svetlana #Tikhanovskaya is safe. She is in #Lithuania,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius tweeted.

There had been concern about Tikhanouskaya’s whereabouts after her campaign team said on Monday they had been unable to reach her by phone hours after she was known to have left a meeting with central election commission officials.

Her campaign team said she had been forced to leave the country.

“She was taken out of the country by the authorities. Svetlana had no choice. Five minutes before the visit, we discussed our future plans and she was certainly not intending to leave the country,” campaign aide Olga Kovalkova told Reuters.

By Tuesday morning she had joined her children in Lithuania. The state border committee later confirmed her departure.