Four people were killed in Togo on Wednesday in clashes between security forces and demonstrators, the security minister said.
Opposition activists have been demonstrating since August, calling for an end to a half century of Gnassingbe family rule.
Gnassingbe’s administration proposed a constitution reform that will allow him to rule the nation until 2030.
The country’s, security and civil protection minister, Colonel Damehame Yark, told a news conference that one person was shot dead and around sixty others arrested in the capital, Lome. Another three died of gunshot wounds in the second-biggest city, Sokode, Reuters reports.
“These are too many deaths. We’d be wise to preserve the peace,” he said.
The latest bout of protests erupted on Monday after the arrest of a Muslim imam accused of urging his followers to murder soldiers.
According to a statement by the government said that a crowd killed two soldiers and one other person died in unspecified circumstances, while close to 20 other people were injured.
The deaths reignited a mass protest movement against President Faure Gnassingbe, who succeeded his late father Gnassingbe Eyadema in 2005.
The protesters are calling for his resignation.
The government has banned marches and mass protests on weekdays in a move to stop demonstrations.
One of the leaders of the opposition, Brigitte Adjamagbo said that they will not back down and will maintain their call to protests.
