demonstration
Dozens injured in Eritrean protest in Israel
Eritrean migrants clash with police during a demonstration in Tel Aviv. photo
© Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
Hundreds of opponents of the Eritrean government are demonstrating in Tel Aviv against an event at the embassy of the East African country. At the same time, violence breaks out.
Serious clashes between Israeli police and migrants from Eritrea are in the coastal city At least 150 people were injured in Tel Aviv. Hundreds of Eritreans protested against the government there in front of their country’s embassy on Saturday, Israeli media reported. At least 18 demonstrators were seriously injured, the Haaretz newspaper reported, citing rescue workers.
Police said security forces also fired shots due to imminent danger to themselves. At least three people were injured as a result. According to the information, at least 27 police officers were injured. Security forces arrested 39 demonstrators. The situation calmed down again in the late afternoon.
Stun grenades and batons
The demonstrators also smashed windows from police and other cars, as well as windows from surrounding shops, as Haaretz wrote. They would have caused significant damage. According to the report, security forces used stun grenades and batons against the demonstrators, among other things. Eyewitnesses reported that many demonstrators carried wooden sticks at the rally in the south of the city. A city hospital said doctors at the clinic had treated 12 people for serious head injuries.
According to the media, an event was to take place in the embassy on Saturday afternoon. The demonstrators had previously asked the police to cancel them and otherwise warned against violence. The government opponents also rioted in the embassy hall, where the event was to take place. There have also been confrontations between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean government.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the police to restore order, according to his office. According to their own statements, the officials used hundreds of forces against the “lawbreakers” in Tel Aviv to stop the violence. Officials called on citizens to keep their distance from the riots.
Thousands of migrants in Israel
In Eritrea, President Isayas Afewerki rules the country in a one-party dictatorship. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are severely restricted. In addition, there is a strict military service and forced labor system, from which many Eritreans flee abroad.
According to media, there are around 18,000 migrants from Eritrea in Israel. The country’s authorities make no distinction between supporters and opponents of the local government in the asylum process. However, asylum applications are only approved in exceptional cases. However, people are not deported to their homeland.
riots in other countries
In Germany, too, there were riots at an Eritrea festival in July, with at least 26 injured police officers, when opponents of the event attacked security forces with stones and bottles and set off smoke bombs. The officers used batons against them, among other things. The organizers of the event in Gießen are close to the controversial leadership of the East African country. In August, more than 50 people were injured in violent riots at an Eritrea festival in Stockholm.
Opponents and supporters of the Eritrean government threw stones and bottles at each other in the Norwegian city of Bergen on Saturday, the newspaper Bergens Tidende reported. At least one person was injured. Eyewitnesses reported that the police had also been attacked. The riots were triggered by a party by government supporters.