A woman has died in Benin after police cracked down on protestors following controversial parliamentary polls, medical and family members said Thursday.
“A woman has succumbed to her injuries,” a medic in Benin’s economic capital Cotonou said, adding that she had been rushed to hospital on Wednesday night, but that her wounds had been too severe. Another man was brought to the hospital with a gunshot wound in his back.
READ ALSO: Poll Violence: Protesters Locked In Standoff With Police, Army In Cotonou
This comes after Protesters in Benin were locked in a tense standoff with police and soldiers Thursday after violence broke out following controversial parliamentary polls held without a single opposition candidate.
Hours after initial results showed a record low turnout in Sunday’s election, soldiers and large numbers of police deployed on Wednesday across the economic capital Cotonou.
Supporters of former president Boni Yayi, who led calls for a boycott of the ballot, took to the streets.
They erected makeshift barriers of burning tyres, and chanting slogans against President Patrice Talon.
Protestors have torched businesses, hurled stones, and smashed the windows of government buildings. Police fired tear gas to break up crowds.
They continued their protests overnight and remained on the streets Thursday.
“Nobody has slept,” said one demonstrator on Thursday morning, who gave his name as Justin B.
