Civil rights groups said at least seven people were killed in the crackdown on protesters, calling on Togo’s leader Faure Gnassingbé to resign and release political prisoners.
More people were injured – some were seriously injured, the report said.
After a few weeks after his 58-year reign of his family, he was sworn in to serve as a new position as chairman of the Council of Ministers, which has no formal term limits.
The Togolese government is now threatening to take legal action against protest organizers, describing the demonstrations as a carefully planned “false and hate campaign” from abroad.
Since 2022, West African countries have banned demonstrations and marches, and authorities have cited “safety reasons.”
Online activists and youth-led campaigns conducted a three-day demonstration, which began Thursday in the capital Lomé, before undergoing a violent turnaround on Friday and Saturday.
Protesters fired tear gas at protesters, who stroked them with stones and other missiles.
Some staunch anti-government protesters participated in the street fighting alongside several areas including opposition strongholds, including Bevey, where police chased the protesters to their hideout.
A coalition of 23 Togolese civil rights organizations called the “national platform for national citizenship space and development effectiveness” – requires authorities to investigate the bloody police crackdown.
They condemned what they called “disproportionate power of the use of peaceful protesters” and added: “Peaceful protest is a fundamental right, both a recognition of the Togo’s constitution and an international tool approved by our country”.
By Sunday, Calm returned to much of Lome, with the shop operating as usual in the main central markets of Assigamé.
The recent orchestrated regime changes by Togo’s leaders continue to arouse resentment. In addition to the new post he could retain for life, Togo’s constitutional reforms ended the presidential election and introduced a parliamentary system.
The arrest and psychiatric detention last month on Togolese rapper Narcisse Essowè Tchalla (also known as Aamron), who served as a catalyst for public outrage, eventually ended up being arrested more than 50 times during protests earlier this month.
Although most have been released, at least three people remain in custody.
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