Police clash with Eritrean asylum seekers

Asylum seekers from Eritrea and Israeli police have clashed in Tel Aviv, resulting in scores of injuries, including from live bullets. Hundreds of protesters were attacked with stun grenades, tear gas, and bullets with sponge tips.

The violence began when opposition campaigners for Eritrea claimed they contacted Israeli authorities to ask them to postpone a Saturday event at the Israeli embassy.

This is the most recent instance of violence in recent weeks as a result of the disputes within Eritrea over the leadership of President Isaias Afwerki spreading into the diaspora.

The activists marched towards the location of the event, according to Israeli news reports. Police barricades initially kept them back, but they eventually broke through.

As police helicopters buzzed overhead and Israeli policemen discharged live ammunition into the air, residents of central Tel Aviv claimed the area sounded like a war zone.

According to a police statement from Israel, policemen deployed their weapons because they believed their lives were in danger and 27 people were hurt.

Videos posted on social media also depicted street fights between Eritreans who support and those who oppose the government in their home country. According to Israeli police, they made an effort to separate the two sides.

The police advised the general public to keep away from the location in a message posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

At a news conference earlier this week, police said that various Eritrean factions had decided to hold rallies on Saturday in two distinct sites.

The location of the government supporters' meeting in Asmara was meant to be close to the embassy. At the nearby historic central bus station, opponents were scheduled to gather.

According to the authorities, the two parties did not honour their agreements. Since then, hundreds of officers have been stationed nearby, according to the police.

The Magen David Adom emergency medical service reported treating 114 injured people in the middle of the day. 30 police officers, the majority of whom were severely bruised, were among those who suffered minor injuries. 13 people had a moderate condition, while 8 had a bad one.

Violence between several factions of Eritrean asylum seekers has occurred in the past.

A regime supporter who was an asylum seeker was fatally stabbed in south Tel Aviv in 2019 as a result of a turf war between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean government in lower-income areas where many members of the population reside.

There are said to be 18,000 Eritrean asylum seekers in Israel, the majority of whom entered the country illegally years ago by travelling via the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. They claimed to have escaped one of the most oppressive nations in the world because of danger, persecution, and forced military service.

Local media reports that the Israeli authorities have not distinguished amongst asylum applicants based on their political affiliations. Eritreans who support the dictatorship would not appear to require international protection as refugees.

The Eritrean diaspora has celebrated Eritrea's 30th anniversary of independence from Ethiopia by holding events.

A three-day Eritrean cultural festival in Toronto, Canada, was postponed last month after clashes between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean regime. However, in addition to Israel, countries in Europe and North America have also been tarnished by protests and outbreaks of violence.

Eritrea is a one-party state, a heavily militarised society, which the administration has attempted to defend by pointing to the possibility of conflict with Ethiopia.

According to UN estimates, hundreds of thousands of Eritreans left their nation in recent years and risked their lives travelling to Europe across the Sahara and the Mediterranean.