A 12-year-old student has been killed and another injured during the clashes between security forces and protesters in a demonstration in the tiny West African nation of Togo.

The clashes erupted in the northern town of Dapaong on Monday when police fired in warning to disperse a crowd demanding the country's schools reopen and better working conditions for teachers.

"The warning shots fired by the police resulted in the death of a student around the age of 12," said a government statement read on national television.


Last week, the government had temporarily closed all primary and secondary schools after thousands of students took to streets in the capital, Lome to demand better conditions for their teachers, who have been on strike for a week.

The teachers and public health workers in the country demand a 100 percent pay rise.

"The government, very concerned about such an escalation of violence, decided to extend the temporary closure of all schools," the statement said.

The statement did not set a date for reopening of schools.

Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe came to power in the disputed election of 2005 after the death of his father, who had run the country for 38 years with an iron fist.

Gnassingbe was reelected to a second term in 2010 in a poll marred by opposition complaints of fraud and intimidation.