JERUSALEM: More than 100 people were injured in violent clashes in Tel Aviv between Eritrean government supporters celebrating an Eritrea Day event and opponents of President Isaias Afwerki.

Israeli police fired stun grenades to break up the clashes, while some protesters hurled stones at police and set fire to trash bins, journalists at the scene said. Footage on social media showed Eritrean government supporters beating anti-government protesters with clubs.

Israeli medical officials said more than 114 people had been treated for injuries, including about 30 police officers.

The violence broke out around an event organised by the Eritrean embassy to mark Revolution Day on Sept 1, which commemorates the start of the Eritrean War of Independence against Ethiopia in 1961. I Isaias has ruled since Eritrea gained independence in 1993. Human rights groups have condemned his government as being highly repressive and the country is under US and EU sanctions for alleged abuses.

“Why did we run from our country?,” one protester in Tel Aviv, Hagos Gavriot, said. “Why the Israeli police gave them a permit to celebrate...for this dictator? We are against this. Why am I here seeking a shelter?” Journalists saw men with head wounds and bloodied arms, some lying on the ground of a children’s playground.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2023