At least ten people were shot dead in Kenya's capital on Tuesday, a paramedic said, as protests against tax legislation turned into violent clashes with police and a section of parliament was set alight.
AFP Journalists saw three people motionless on the ground near the compound, where police fired live ammunition and left “many injured,” according to International Amnesty Kenya.
Police fired on a crowd gathering outside the parliament building, where lawmakers had been debating a controversial bill that included proposed tax increases.
Shortly before, Irungu Houghton, executive director of International Amnesty Kenya said AFP that “human rights monitors are now reporting the increasing use of live ammunition by the National Police Service in the capital, Nairobi.”
“It is now urgent that medical officials can treat the many injured,” he said.
The protests, led mainly by Generation Z, began last week and were mostly peaceful, and President William Ruto said over the weekend that he was ready to talk to protesters.
But tensions rose sharply on Tuesday afternoon, when crowds began throwing stones at police and pushing through barricades, pushing their way into the parliament complex, which was closed by police in riot gear.
Anger over the cost of living crisis escalated to spark demonstrations across the country last week, with protesters calling for the finance bill to be scrapped.
