LOME, Togo, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- West African governments imposed sanctions on Togo Saturday after its military-appointed leader, Faure Gnassingbe, refused to resign.
At least 10,000 people protested Saturday in Togo's capital Lome against the army's decision to make Gnassingbe, the son of their deceased President Gnassingbe Eyadema, his unelected successor.
The protest was the largest since the death two weeks ago of President Eyadema, who had ruled Togo for 38 years, the BBC reported.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, current chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, told a Togolese delegation visiting Nigeria Saturday that Gnassingbe should immediately step down or face the possibility of sanctions from the regional group.
Gnassingbe has promised to hold elections within 60 days, but ECOWAS said that was not enough.
The sanctions Saturday include suspension from ECOWAS, the recall of ambassadors from Togo, a travel ban on the Togolese leadership and an arms embargo.
