The death toll from protests in Kenya has climbed to 13, an official from the main doctors’ association told AFP on Wednesday, after anti-tax hike rallies turned violent and police opened fire at demonstrators who ransacked parliament.

“So far, we have at least 13 people killed, but this is not the final number,” Simon Kigondu, president of the Kenya Medical Association said, adding that he had never seen “such level of violence against unarmed people.”

The unprecedented scenes that left parts of parliament ablaze and gutted and injured scores of people on Tuesday have prompted President William Ruto’s government to deploy the military. Hundreds of protesters had breached barricades around the Parliament of Kenya and stormed the complex where lawmakers were debating the proposals, as police fired live bullets.

The mainly youth-led rallies began mostly peacefully last week, with thousands of demonstrators marching in the capital Nairobi and across the country against the tax increases. However, tensions flared sharply on Tuesday afternoon, as police officers fired live rounds on crowds that later ransacked the parliament complex.

Hours later, Defence Minister Aden Bare Duale announced that the government had deployed the army to support the police in tackling “the security emergency” in the country.

“Deaths, mayhem”, read the front-page headline on the Standard newspaper, while the Daily Nation described the situation as “Pandemonium”, saying: “The foundations of the country have been shaken to the core.”

In a late-night press briefing, President Ruto warned that his government would take a tough line against “violence and anarchy”, likening some of the demonstrators to “criminals”.

“It is not in order or even conceivable that criminals pretending to be peaceful protesters can reign terror against the people, their elected representatives and the institutions established under our constitution and expect to go scot-free,” he said.