TOGO: Internet blocked as protesters march for second day

Togolese authorities blocked Internet access on Thursday as opponents of President Faure Gnassingbe marched for a second day against his family’s 50-year rule.  Hundreds of protesters began marching from the opposition stronghold of Be toward a meeting in central Lome with police officers walking calmly besides them, a witness said.  The scale of this week’s […]

Togolese authorities blocked Internet access on Thursday as opponents of President Faure Gnassingbe marched for a second day against his family’s 50-year rule. 

Hundreds of protesters began marching from the opposition stronghold of Be toward a meeting in central Lome with police officers walking calmly besides them, a witness said. 

The scale of this week’s protests, which the opposition says were attended by hundreds of thousands of people, represents the biggest challenge to Gnassingbe’s rule since the aftermath of his ascension to power in 2005. 

The communications minister could not immediately be reached for comment on the cuts.