*´ºÉ«Ö±²¥

Military jeeps were deployed as reinforcements in some areas. Police dispersed dozens of protesters with tear gas and arrested around 10 people in the Bè neighborhood, a stronghold of the opposition.

Civil society groups and social media influencers had called for protests on June 26, 27, and 28, after the early this month.

A coalition of political groups known as “Hands Off My Constitution� said in a Facebook post on Wednesday it "strongly urges Faure Gnassingbé to immediately and unconditionally release all of the roughly one hundred political prisoners, and to take urgent measures to restore purchasing power to the population.

It called for an “unprecedented peaceful demonstration.�

Togo’s leader Faure Gnassingbé, who has ruled since 2005 after the death of his father, was in May sworn in as . The powerful role has not official term limits and he is eligible to be re-elected by parliament indefinitely.

Opposition politicians have denounced the move as a “constitutional coup.�

Demonstrations are rare in Togo because they have been banned in the country since 2022 following a deadly attack at Lome’s main market.

But the latest change in government structure has been widely criticized in a and other threats to democracy.