Hundreds of demonstrators man barricades in country’s economic capital for second day following election results
Security forces in Benin’s largest city Cotonou have fired weapons to disperse crowds protesting against the exclusion of opposition parties from Sunday’s parliamentary polls, witnesses said.
Hundreds of people have been protesting since Wednesday, erecting makeshift barricades of burning tyres and calling for President Patrice Talon to step down.
Troops and riot police used firearms to break up the protest on Thursday, witnesses told news agencies.
A video widely shared online appeared to show government forces firing guns and using water cannon. It was not immediately possible to verify the footage.
“The police and soldiers … they started firing, they chased people,” a resident told the AFP news agency. “We heard shots, lots of shots.”
A woman died on Thursday after being wounded the day before, medical sources told AFP.
The protests began hours after initial results on Wednesday showed a record low turnout in the election.
Supporters of former president Thomas Boni Yayi, who had led calls for a boycott of the ballot, took to the streets.
They erected makeshift barriers of burning tyres, and chanted slogans against President Talon.
Protesters have torched businesses, hurled stones, and smashed the windows of government buildings.
Police fired tear gas to break up crowds, and protesters tried to throw some canisters back.
“Talon … will not be able to kill our democracy,” one demonstrator said.
“Democracy is precious to us, the people of Benin,” said another. “That is why we have protested.
Violence was also reported in the town of Kandi, some 620 kilometres (385 miles) to the north.
One of the country’s largest cotton factories – a sector in which Talon made his fortune before entering politics – was set on fire.
“Protesters set the factory on fire in the evening,” said a firefighter. “Everything burned.”
The unrest followed the electoral commission’s decision to bar opposition parties from standing in the election because they were unable to meet strict criteria under a new election law to field candidates. Talon denied that was the intention of the law.
