According to videos circulating on social media the protesters fought back beating up soldiers and even seizing their Guns
According to facebook user Fred Brown Lobos who shared the below photos;
TOGO IS CURRENTLY BOILING OVER THE FAMILY OF YADEMA 50 YEARS DYNASTY RULE.ASKING FAURE YADEMA TO STEP DOWN FOR ANOTHER PERSON TO TAKE OVER.IT STARTED SINCE LAST FRIDAY AND TENSION HAS INCREASE YESTERDAY EVENING WHEN CIVILIANS TOOK ON THE MILITARY OFFICERS IN SOME PART OF THE CAPITAL LOME.
In Other news, The protest, dubbed
“Togo Mort” or “Dead Togo” by the opposition coalition, comes against a
backdrop of soaring political tensions as the government resists
pressure to change the constitution to limit the power of President
Faure Gnassingbe. Two people
were killed — one after suffering a gunshot wound — at weekend protests
against Gnassingbe’s rule in Sokode, 300 kilometres (185 miles) north of
Lome. Sixty-six people were arrested following the violence, according to the justice ministry. Opposition leaders gathered in a church in Lome for a mass in memory of those who died.
“Only a mass mobilisation will
enable us to end the regime,” Jean-Pierre Fabre, the president of Togo’s
main opposition National Alliance for Change party, told AFP. Marketplaces
in Lome were officially open, but most traders had stayed away despite a
government appeal for people to resist opposition “intimidation” ahead
of the strike. The majority of civil servants appeared to have gone to work and banks remained open. Togo’s
opposition parties have called for more protest marches to be held on
August 30 and 31 to intensify demands for a raft of pro-democracy
constitutional reforms. The president’s Unir party announced on Thursday that it would stage its own counter demonstrations on August 29, 30 and 31.
– ‘Keep up the pressure’ –
The opposition coalition celebrated the apparent success of its strike action. “We’re
very pleased because our appeal for a day of contemplation and prayer
was largely followed in Lome and in certain other towns across the
country,” said Eric Dupuy, a spokesman for Cap 2015, a coalition of five
opposition parties. “The Togolese people have had enough and have understood our message.” Gnassingbe,
who succeeded his father Gnassingbe Eyadema who ruled Togo with an iron
grip for 38 years, was elected with army support in 2005 before being
reelected in 2010 and 2015 in fiercely contested polls.
“Traffic flowed freely and there
was a slowdown in commercial activity on Friday linked to the campaign
of terror, intimidation and threats by the organisers of this ‘Dead
Togo’ day,” government minister Gilbert Bawara said in a statement,
adding that some traders had stayed away for fear of attack. There were no disturbances or notable staff absences in the public sector, he added. “Now
is the time for political reform, especially term limits to one day
allow someone else to lead the country,” said Maurice Ehouili, a
motorcycle taxi driver. “This
time we are determined to keep up the pressure on the authorities to
make them reform. I’m ready to march every day until we secure reform.” Togo’s
opposition want the country’s constitution, which was changed in 2002,
to be updated to reintroduce presidential term limits of a maximum of 10
years. They also want elections changed so that they feature two rounds of voting instead of just one.
