What began as peaceful marches on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of last year’s anti-government protests in Kenya spiraled into violence, leaving at least eight people dead and over 400 injured amid clashes with police.

The demonstrations, which took place across 23 counties, quickly descended into chaos in the capital, Nairobi, as protesters engaged in running battles with heavily armed police. Security forces fired volleys of tear gas, while some demonstrators ripped up flagstones to hurl at officers and chanted slogans demanding the resignation of President William Ruto.

The protests were held to commemorate the deadly anti-tax demonstrations of 2023, during which at least 60 people were killed.

Tensions peaked last year when a massive crowd stormed Kenya’s Parliament on June 25 in opposition to controversial tax hikes.

“We are marching against police brutality, against oppression by the government, against high taxation—everything that is going wrong in this country,” said Anthony, 25, a protester who declined to give his full name.

A coalition of rights groups confirmed the death toll at eight, citing widespread violence and a heavy-handed police response across the country.

In Matuu, a town roughly 100 kilometres (65 miles) northeast of Nairobi, two people reportedly died from gunshot wounds.

A local hospital source confirmed the fatalities, and media reports suggest that police officers opened fire on demonstrators there.

Wednesday’s unrest has drawn renewed attention to the state of civil liberties and police conduct in Kenya, as well as growing public frustration with the rising cost of living and economic policies under President Ruto’s administration.