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 LOME, Togo (AP) - Soldiers beat people with clubs and batons Thursday as security forces quelled two days of rioting by opposition supporters angry that the son of the country's late dictator was elected president.
Riots and clashes between demonstrators and troops have left at least 22 dead nationwide. U.N. officials said thousands of Togolese have fled across borders since strife broke out — the latest in years of refugee movements that have added to instability in West Africa.
The rioting began Tuesday after the announcement that Faure Gnassingbe, son of former dictator Gnassingbe Eyadama, had won presidential elections held over the weekend. Bob Akitani, the main opposition candidate, declared himself president on Wednesday, claiming the opposition's own ballot counting had put him ahead of Gnassingbe. He urged his followers to continue to fight the government.
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