By John Zodzi LOME, Aug 2 (Reuters) - French soldiers have been dispatched to Togo to help the tiny West African nation tackle floods that have killed nine people this week, destroyed bridges and raised some food prices due to disrupted transport. No estimate has been given yet on the financial scale of the damage but one immediate impact was an increase in the cost of maize -- already high from the global food and fuel crisis -- as some agricultural areas are cut off from consumers. "We have today nine victims and nine bridges down," Celestin Ekpaou Talaki, Togo's minister for public works, transport and town planning, told state television late on Friday. The French soldiers from a peacekeeping mission in nearby Ivory Coast will repair a bridge north of the capital which has been destroyed, shutting down country's main highway, an official in the prime minister's office said. The floods were caused by unexpected heavy rains in Togo's south, which have swollen the Hao and Zio rivers north of Lome. On top of the roads, several sections of railway have been cut off. Donors have held crisis meetings with the government and Togo's development minister said a way must be found to help the "thousands of people who are stuck in their homes". Assistance from France comes after Togo's army began helping deliver food and non-food items to those in need. Neighbouring Ghana has also offered military assistance. Until the French engineers can help re-open the main artery to the north, transporters serving Sahel countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali will have to make a 100 km detour. Escalating global food and fuel costs are hitting Africa's poor particularly hard as these goods make up a greater proportion of incomes than in other parts of the world. A Reuters witness in Lome said the impact of the floods could already be seen in the markets, where the price of a cup of maize had nearly doubled, rising to 1,400 CFA francs ($3.33) from 850 CFA francs just three days earlier. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com) (Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Mary Gabriel)
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