International mediators try to help end Togo crisis

International mediators met with Togolese government ministers yesterday to try to end a crisis in which scores of people died during days of rioting after the late ruler's son was declared winner of a disputed poll.

The head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Mohamed ibn Chambas, and Niger's foreign minister, Aichatou Mindaoudou, met Togo's interim president, prime minister and foreign minister in Lome.

"The message has been the same from the start. (Regional leaders) have been worried about three things: respecting the constitution, organising elections and guaranteeing peace and security," Mindaoudou told reporters after the brief meeting.

She said the delegation would now meet other political players in Togo, without giving details.

Days of clashes between security forces and opposition youths followed the announcement on Tuesday that Faure Gnassingbe, whose father ruled the country for four decades, had won Sunday's presidential election.