LOME, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Togo's security forces are put on guard against acts of vandalism being planned on Saturday after the presidential election.
Some "uncontrollable groups of youth are planning to infiltrate" the authorized demonstrations that are supposed to take place on Saturday in the capital Lome to commit acts of vandalism by using petrol bombs, a senior official of the 2010 presidential election security forces (FOSEP) warned on Friday.
"According to the information that we have, certain groups of uncontrollable youths are preparing to infiltrate the protests and either spread panic or commit acts of vandalism by use of petrol bombs," a senior FOSEP officer said in a statement.
The revelation came amid reports that the West African country's top opposition United Forces for Change (UFC) and the ruling Assembly of Togolese People (RPT) would both organize demonstrations in the Togolese capital.
The Provincial Administration Ministry has given the green light to the holding of demonstrations on both side along the well defined routes in the city.
The UFC has rejected the provisional results of the March 4 polls and staged a series of protests against the re-election of outgoing President Faure Gnassingbe, while the RPT plans to celebrate his victory and rally more support on Saturday.
Facing the threats of vandalism, FOSEP "would like to warn any one who would want to cause any trouble and asks everyone to be vigilant so that these demonstrations can go on peacefully," the statement said.
The FOSEP 2010 commander, lieutenant colonel Yark Damehane, assured the organizers and the civilian population that proper security measures will be taken during the demonstrations.
FOSEP is a security unit with 6,000 officers from the police force and the gendarme. It was set up for the purposes of the 2010 presidential election.
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