Benin post-election violence: Military patrol Cotonou streets

Uneasy standoff with soldiers in Benin, opposition call for international mediation after last week’s election.

Security forces maintained a tight clamp on protests in the city of Cotonou, after two days of post-election violence.

Soldiers broke up demonstrations with gunfire after the opposition called for the annulment of last Sunday’s parliamentary election.

Life returned back to near-normal in much of Cotonou a day after soldiers broke up demonstrations with gunfire around the home of former-President Thomas Boni Yayi, which had become a focal point of anger over Sunday’s parliamentary polls, which took place without opposition parties.

The opposition says they will not give up the push for a new direction in Benin.

Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque reports from Cotonou.