A good number of people have been wounded from live gunfire, during the conflict between Eritrean refugees and Israeli police force in Tel Aviv.
Sponge-tipped bullets, stun grenades and tear gas had been deployed against hundreds of protesters.
The violence had begun after activists averse to the Eritrean government had reportedly asked Israeli authorities to scrap an embassy event on Saturday, September 2.
But the demonstrators had also fought with the Eritrean regime supporters.
Note that the divide within Eritrea over President Isaias Afwerki’s rule, had trickled over into the diaspora, and this attack had been the latest outbreak in recent weeks.
According to Israeli news reports, the protestors had charged towards a venue where the event was scheduled to hold, but they had been held back by police barriers, which they eventually succeeded in breaking.
The demonstrators had fought with the authorities, destroyed cars and shattered the windows of nearby stores.
A statement released by the Israeli police had revealed that the police officers had been forced to use their guns as they had perceived threats on their lives.
In a statement posted on X, formerly called Twitter, the police had warned uninvolved members (ie bystanders) of the general public to avoid the scene of the incident.
Earlier this week, policemen announced during a news conference that various Eritrean factions had agreed on rallying in two different locations on Saturday, September 2.
The fans of the government in Asmara had also agreed to meet very near the embassy venue.
The opposition had planned to protest at the old central bus station, a short distance away.
But trouble had begun because the two sides had not stayed true to their commitments, according to police reports.
Police sources have revealed that hundreds of officers have since been dispatched to the area.
It is guesstimated that there are around 18,000 asylum seekers from Eritrea in Israel, majority of whom had arrived unlawfully several years ago by crossing the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
They refugees had claimed to have been fleeing from danger, oppression and mandatory military conscription in one of the world’s most authoritarian countries.
