Togo protests turn deadly after government crackdown

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At least one child was shot and killed in clashes between protesters and security forces in Togo's capital city Lome on Saturday after the government banned protests about upcoming elections.

Togolese security minister, Yark Damehane said that an eight-year-old was shot dead by individuals in a non-registered 4X4 vehicle. He said a search was underway to find the vehicle and perpetrators.

A coalition of 14 opposition political parties in recent days announced a series of ten new protests in the run-up to parliamentary elections planned for December 20. The main opposition coalition in the West African country is denouncing the polls, demanding a reform of the national electoral commission and a two-term limit for presidents.

The government banned the planned protests citing "very high risk to public order."

As for the violent clashes on Saturday, the opposition leaders said it's the soldiers who fired tear gas at the protesters.

"The perpetrators of these killings will pay for their actions when the time comes," opposition official Brigitte Adjamagbo-Johnson was quoted by Togo Breaking News as saying.

Togo has been hit by a wave of protests since September last year, calling for the resignation of President Faure Gnassingbe, who has been in power since 2005. Before that, his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, was president for 38 years.

Earlier this week, evangelical, Presbyterian and Methodist churches in Togo called for the election to be delayed for several months because of concern about the protests.

(Cover photo: Protesters march and chant slogans during an anti-government protest led by a coalition of opposition parties in Lome, September 7, 2017. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP