Over 150 people were injured in Tel Aviv on Saturday, including about 15 seriously, as Eritrean asylum seekers protesting against their government clashed with regime supporters and both groups clashed with police trying to maintain order.
The chaos broke out during a demonstration against an official Eritrean government event marking the 30th anniversary of the current ruler’s coming to power. Opponents of the regime dressed in blue came to the scene to demonstrate against supporters dressed in red. The rallies soon turned into violent clashes that lasted several hours.
Eritreans from both sides fought with lumber, pieces of metal, stones and at least one ax and stormed through a neighborhood in southern Tel Aviv that is home to many asylum seekers. Protesters smashed store windows and police cars, and blood splattered on sidewalks.
Police in riot gear fired tear gas, stun grenades and live rounds, while officers on horseback tried to control the protesters, breaking through the barricades and hurling stones at police. Police said officers used live fire when they felt their lives were in danger.
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Magen David Adom Ambulance Service said the injured included 30 police officers who suffered minor to moderate injuries.
The Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv said it treated 14 seriously injured people, 11 of whom suffered gunshot wounds, including four people who underwent surgery. Other injuries included stab wounds and head wounds.
Injured protesters were also taken to Wolfson Medical Center in Holon. There was no immediate comment from the hospital on the condition of the wounded who were taken there.
Prof. Ronni Gamzu, administrator of the Ichilov Medical Center, said the hospital was dealing with a mass casualty accident on a scale that he “couldn’t remember” experiencing during his time in that role.
Police said in a statement that officers fired in the air as protesters broke through police barriers on Yad Harutzim Street and began rioting outside a venue where the Eritrean embassy was planning to hold a “festival.”
According to the statement, the officers fired because they felt their lives were in danger, resulting in three injuries. It was unclear whether civilians were carrying firearms.
A police car was damaged by rioting Eritrean asylum seekers during an anti-regime protest in Tel Aviv on September 2, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
In a statement, police said officers were injured when rioters threw rocks and wooden planks at them.
The violence represented a “violation of all the norms we allow,” said police chief Haim Bublil, Yarkon district chief. “And a situation arose where we had to use significant resources, including live fire from police officers.”
In addition to the forces already on site, hundreds of police officers were deployed to southern Tel Aviv to bring the spiral of violence under control.
Videos posted on social media showed street battles between police and rioters and apparently between feuding groups of Eritrean nationals.
A senior police official told Haaretz that while they expected some violence, officers were unprepared for the intensity of the unrest.
“We were very surprised at the level of violence, the kind of scenes you only see in the West Bank,” the unnamed police officer said.
In recent months, the police response to demonstrations has come under increasing scrutiny.
An Eritrean community leader, identified only as Jonny, told Haaretz that they had asked police in advance to cancel the embassy event and warned that unrest could break out.
“We took dozens of people to the police and asked them to cancel the regime’s event. We said there would be violence. They didn’t listen to us,” he said.
Damage caused by riots by Eritrean asylum seekers during a protest against the regime in Tel Aviv, September 2, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
In the past, there have been outbreaks of violence within the Eritrean migrant community between those who support the regime in their homeland and those who oppose it.
In 2019, a regime supporter in Tel Aviv was stabbed and beaten to death by three other members of the Eritrean community.
According to Channel 12, around 25,000 Eritrean nationals live in Israel.
Damage caused by riots by Eritrean asylum seekers during a protest against the regime in Tel Aviv, September 2, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Last month, as Eritrea celebrated 30 years of independence, celebrations of the Eritrean diaspora in Europe and North America were attacked by exiles. The Eritrean government described them as “asylum scum.”
People who have fled the Horn of Africa country say the violence against the festivals was a protest against a repressive government dubbed the “North Korea of Africa.”
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled Eritrea over the years, many to the deserts of Sudan and then to North Africa. Many are trying to find safety in Europe, while thousands have arrived in Israel.
President Isaias Afwerki, 77, has led Eritrea since it won independence from Ethiopia in a long guerrilla war. There are no elections, no free press and exit visas are required.
Many young people are being forced into military service with no end date, human rights groups and United Nations experts say.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.