More than 100 people were injured in violent clashes in Tel Aviv between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean regime. The clashes occurred during an Eritrea Day event organized by the Eritrean embassy to mark Revolution Day on Sept. 1. The event commemorates the start of the Eritrean War of Independence against Ethiopia in 1961. Israeli medical officials reported that over 114 people, including 30 police officers, had been treated for injuries.
The riots began on Sept. 2 in northern Tel Aviv and continued throughout the afternoon in the city’s southern neighborhoods. Protesters were shouting, waving sticks, and throwing stones. Police urged the public to stay away from the riots and allow them to carry out their duties. As the crowd became more violent, police and Border Police forces used stun grenades against the protesters. Protesters broke through barricades and threw chunks of sidewalk, batteries, and rocks at the police. They also vandalized cars, smashed windows of businesses and car windshields, and caused destruction in the hall where the Eritrean embassy’s event was supposed to take place.
According to a police statement on Twitter, 39 rioters carrying weapons, tear gas, and electrical stun guns were arrested. In response to the increasing violence, police fired live rounds at three protesters who posed a threat to their lives. Shortly before 4 p.m. local time, the police announced that they had regained control and that calm had returned to the streets in the southern Tel Aviv area.
Similar protests have been taking place worldwide as Eritrea celebrates 30 years of independence. The Eritrean government has been criticized for its authoritarian rule, lack of elections, restrictions on freedom of the press, and mandatory military conscription. Eritreans make up the majority of the African asylum-seekers in Israel, with many fleeing the harsh conditions in their home country. They fear persecution and death if they were to return to Eritrea.