At least two people were killed as supporters of the losing candidate in Niger’s presidential elections led violent protests in the capital Niamey, Interior Minister Alkache Alhada said on Thursday. The opposition runner Mahamane Ousmane has deemed the elections fraudulent after the electoral commission announced the ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoum’s win. “The toll is two dead,” Alhada told reporters, adding that police arrested 468 protesters since Tuesday. Alhada accused the opposition figure Hama Amadou of inciting the violence. “(He) is being sought and as usual he is on the run, but we will find him,” Alhada added. Houses set on fire Ousmane’s supporters have marched since Tuesday, throwing rocks at police, who fired tear gas to disperse them. Some protesters set buildings on fire. Radio France International (RFI) said that its correspondent Moussa Kaka’s house was among those set on fire. RFI said that Kaka’s family was safe and described the attack as “a grave attack on freedom of the press.” Kaka had spent months in prison between 2007 to 2008 on charges of “endangering state security” after authorities accused him of ties with Tuareg rebels in northern Niger. Ousmane claims winning Ousmane was the first democratically elected president in Niger…. Read full this story
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