ABIDJAN(AP) – Police fired on demonstrators at an anti-government rally Friday, killing five people and wounding a dozen others in Ivory Coast's latest protest since the president dissolved the government a week ago, the opposition said.

Demonstrations spread to at least eight cities in the West African nation on Friday. Moussa Dembele of the opposition RDR party said the deadly protest took place in Gagnoa, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of the economic capital, Abidjan.
President Laurent Gbagbo had set a Friday deadline to form a new government but the prime minister on Thursday evening asked for a 48-hour extension.
Augustin Gehoum, a spokesman for Gbagbo's party, said the deaths were “regrettable,” but said police were not to blame. He also said the protests were part of an opposition strategy to destabilize the country after Gbagbo's decision to dissolve the government.