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Beninese security forces killed two protesters in Save on Saturday during a demonstration by a crowd that had erected barricades and blocked the road for days, said the mayor.
The protest followed protests over the controversial April 28 legislative elections in the West African country.
"This morning, a contingent of Republican police came to cross roadblocks," said Timothée Biaou, Mayor of the city of Save.
"Shots were exchanged between police and masked individuals, seven civilians were taken to the hospital and two people died."
A witness of the confrontation, who asked not to be named, also said that two people had been killed, a motorcycle taxi driver and the other a teenager.
"The road has been unblocked but it is a total panic.Many people have fled, others stay at home," said the witness.
AFP reporters have observed deserted streets, an abandoned market, shops and closed businesses.
On Friday, soldiers opened fire on protesters with live ammunition, witnesses said.
One of them told AFP that two people had been killed on Friday, but this could not be confirmed independently.
The area where protesters gather is the base of former President Thomas Boni Yayi, a virulent critic of the government.
Protesters demand the lifting of a cordon of police around the house of Boni Yayi, in the country's economic capital, Cotonou. He has been under house arrest since the election.
The crisis fueled concerns of an authoritarian turnaround in a country once considered a democratic example in the region.
The vote was held without any opposition candidate. The 83 deputies come from only two parties allowed to participate, both allied with the president Patrice Talon.
Changes to the electoral rules had effectively prevented opposition parties from running candidates.
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