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| - Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday that the country faced "terrorist threats" from protesters after the opposition demanded he resign and launched a strike. The ex-Soviet nation has been engulfed by historic protests since Lukashenko, 66, claimed a landslide election victory over political newcomer Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in August. On Monday, workers at a number of factories went on strike as Tikhanovskaya's deadline for Lukashenko to resign and halt violence against protesters had been ignored. "These are the actions of organised criminal groups with signs of terrorism. We are starting to face terrorist threats," Lukashenko said on Tuesday. Speaking at the start of a government meeting, he added that some of the protesters had "crossed a red line" and some sought to block railways. Tikhanovskaya said that workers from major plants including the Grodno Azot chemical plant, the Minsk Automobile Plant and Minsk Tractor Works joined the strike on Monday. Several thousand students and pensioners marched through the streets of the capital Minsk to back the workers. According to the interior ministry, nearly 600 people were detained at demonstrations across the country on Monday. Tikhanovskaya, who claims to have won the August 9 election and is now based in EU member Lithuania, said on Tuesday that the "strike continues," adding that employees of Grodno Azot, the Minsk Automobile Plant and other factories were under "colossal pressure". In a post on her Telegram channel, she reiterated her call to support those who have gone on strike. "Support everyone who declared a strike for our future," she said. The protest movement in Belarus has kept up large demonstrations for more than two months, with tens of thousands taking to the streets every Sunday. Several people died and thousands were arrested in a post-election crackdown, with harrowing accounts emerging of abuse in jails. tk-acl/as/lc
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