Seven killed during Togo protests, civil society groups say

LOME (Reuters) -Seven people were killed during anti-government protests in Togo last week, said human rights activists, who accused security forces of using "shocking violence" against protesters.

The protests calling for the resignation of longtime leader Faure Gnassingbe amid what government critics describe as a cost of living crisis began last Thursday. Reuters witnesses saw soldiers use tear gas and batons to disperse them.

A joint statement by 12 Togolese civil society and human rights groups also accused security forces of carrying out arbitrary arrests, beating civilians with batons and ropes and stealing and destroying private property.

The groups said three bodies, two of them minors, were found on Friday in Be lagoon, east of the capital Lome. They said the bodies of two brothers were found on the same day in a lake in Lome's Akodessewa district. And they said two more bodies were discovered on Saturday in Nyekonakpoe, also in Lome.

A government statement dated Sunday acknowledged bodies were recovered from Be lagoon and the Akodessewa lake but said the deaths were due to drowning.

"The government expresses its sympathy to bereaved families and reminds all residents near water bodies to observe safety rules around water areas, especially during this rainy season," the statement said.

The protests were part of persistent political strife in Togo, where in May Gnassingbe took the powerful new role of President of the Council of Ministers that has no fixed term limit.

Civil society groups say the new title for Gnassingbe, whose family has ruled Togo since 1967, is another indication of democratic backsliding in West Africa, a region known for coups and leaders entrenching themselves in power for generations.

Hodabalo Awate, Togo's minister of territorial administration, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the handling of the protests.

Sunday's government statement commended the security forces' response and said there had been "several" arrests.

Togolese authorities arrested dozens of people on June 5-6 during protests against Gnassingbe's new role in what Amnesty International described as a crackdown on dissent.

Many were quickly released, the rights group said.

(Reporting by Togo newsroomWriting by Ayen Deng BiorEditing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Ros Russell)