Canada and Britain have gone ahead with sanctions on individual Belarusians, which were meant to be a coordinated move with the United States.

Sources say the sanctions could come as early as Friday after incumbent claims disputed election win.

Two Moscow-based Associated Press journalists who were covering the recent protests in Belarus were deported to Russia on Saturday.

Protests began late on Aug. 9 at the closing of presidential elections. Official results say the authoritarian Lukashenko, in office since 1994, won a sixth term in a landslide with about 80 per cent of the vote.

Nearly 7,000 people have been detained and hundreds injured since Sunday as police have ferociously dispersed the demonstrations.

In several areas of Minsk, hundreds of women formed long "lines of solidarity.'' Many of them carried flowers and portraits of loved ones who have been detained during protests.