Togo security forces, protesters clash

Security forces have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters in the second day of rallies over the election victory of the late authoritarian ruler’s son.

At least two people were shot dead, residents say

In the opposition stronghold of Be, protesters surged forward to hurl stones at the security forces on Wednesday, retreating into courtyards as tear gas was fired.

Shops were looted and wrecked cars littered the streets in the neighbourhood of tin-roofed buildings.

Paramilitary police patrolled main avenues as youths, some with charcoal-painted faces and armed with slingshots and machetes, took cover in the backstreets behind roadblocks of burning tyres and bricks.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said its workers treated or transferred to hospital at least 100 people on Tuesday.

At least two people were shot and killed, according to Lome residents.
   
Opposition leaders said they would not accept the results, and called on their supporters to mount a popular resistance.

The capital, Lome, slipped into urban warfare minutes after officials announced on Tuesday that Faure Gnassingbe, son of Gnassingbe Eyadema who ruled the former French colony for nearly four decades, had won a weekend presidential election.

Source: Reuters