Amnesty International alarmed over use lethal force on NASA protesters

Policemen spray water to disperse supporters of Opposition leader Raila Odinga in Nairobi, Kenya November 17, 2017. /REUTERS
Policemen spray water to disperse supporters of Opposition leader Raila Odinga in Nairobi, Kenya November 17, 2017. /REUTERS

Amnesty International wants Kenyan police to stop firing live ammunition during opposition protests.

The human rights organisation has asked police to protect civilians as is there mandate.

“We have received reports of at least three deaths, and live TV footage shows another man being shot in the leg.

"Firearms can only be used when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life,” said Abdullahi Halakhe, AI’s East Africa researcher.

Their statement comes hours after two people were reportedly killed

on Friday as

police tried to disperse supporters cheering a convoy carrying Opposition leader Raila Odinga from the airport to Nairobi.

Police dispersed the crown with teargas canisters and used water cannon as they tried to stop the convoy from

reaching the central business district.

Read more:

"The indiscriminate use of live ammunition is totally unacceptable. Firearms must never be used to disperse crowds,” Halakhe added.

According to an AI, at least 66 people have been killed by police in election-related violence since August.

Some 33 of them died in the aftermath of the August 8 elections, and another three were killed during the October re-run.

The Opposition supporters were trying to get to Uhuru Park in downtown Nairobi, where they expected Raila to address them, just hours after he had returned from an eight-day trip to the US.

Police have claimed that five people were killed by mobs as they looted during the Opposition demonstrations.

They have denied using live ammunition.

WATCH: The latest videos from the Star