Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the main opposition leader, said she left Belarus independently and denies being forced out of the country. /Reuters
The main opposition candidate in the presidential election in Belarus on Sunday said she had made a "difficult decision" to leave the country, after two nights of clashes between police and opposition supporters.
On Monday, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya went missing for several hours after lodging an official complaint about the election result, which returned Alexander Lukashenko for a sixth term in power.
On Tuesday morning, Lithuanian foreign minister Linas Linkevicius said in a tweet from his official account that Tikhanovskaya was now in Lithuania. "She apparently felt a certain pressure and did not have very much choice but to leave the country," Linkevicius told reporters in Vilnius, adding that Tikhanovskaya, 37, had been detained in Belarus for seven hours, but didn't say by whom.
Shortly after, Tikhanovskaya – a former English teacher, who emerged from obscurity to become the president's main rival after her blogger husband was jailed – posted a video on YouTube, saying she left Belarus independently and denied being forced out. "I made a very difficult decision. It's a decision I made absolutely independently," she added.
"You know, I thought that this whole campaign really had hardened me and given me so much strength that I could handle anything, but, probably, I'm still the weak woman I was in the first place. I have made a very difficult decision for myself," she added.
Violent clashes continued in Belarus's capital Minsk as calls continue for the country's president, Alexander Lukashenko, to step down. /Reuters
She indicated she had left Belarus to be with her two children, who had earlier been taken out of the country for their own safety.
"Children are the most important thing we have in life," Tikhanovskaya said.
"I know that many will understand me, many will judge me and many will begin to hate me," she added. "But God forbid anyone faces the choice I had. People please take care of yourselves. What is happening now is not worth a single life."
In a separate video released by the Belarus state Tikhanovskaya urged her fellow citizens not to return to the streets for more protests and to "respect the law."
But her allies believe this was recorded under pressure from law enforcement.
Protesters threw petrol bombs and set up roadblocks in some areas on Monday night, but Tikhanovskaya has urged against any further protests. /Reuters
On Monday, President Lukashenko referred to the protesters as "sheep" under foreign control and vowed that the country would not "be torn apart."
Over the two nights of protests police used tear gas, rubber bullets, batons and stun grenades to try to disperse the thousands of people. Protesters retaliated by throwing petrol bombs and setting up barricades in some areas.
The Belarusian government confirmed one person had died during the protests as he tried to throw an unidentified explosive object, which detonated in his hand. More than 3,000 people were detained during Sunday night's protests. The country's interior ministry said 21 police and security personnel had been injured in the protests, with five taken to hospital.
Belarusians brought flowers and candles to where the protester died on Tuesday, while cars driving past the site honked their horns in support.
Lukashenko won 80 percent of Sunday's election, but several countries have criticized the conduct of the election.
Germany has called for the European Union to investigate and discuss sanctions, while Poland has requested a special EU summit to discuss the situation.