Published: 5 September 2023
Last updated: 5 March 2024
More than 150 people were injured in unprecedented violence between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean government on Saturday.
Tel Aviv saw unprecedented, chaotic violence between rival groups of Eritrean migrants, in a fight split along lines of supporters and opponents of the country’s autocratic regime.
Eritreans make up the majority of the some 30,000 African asylum-seekers in Israel today, likely numbering around 17,000.
Most of them say they fled danger and persecution from a country known as the “North Korea of Africa” with forced lifetime military conscription in slavery-like conditions.
But the government in Asmara does have some supporters in Israel. The chaos on Saturday broke out over an official Eritrean government event for its supporters in Tel Aviv, marking the 30th anniversary of the current ruler’s rise to power.
Opponents of the regime, decked in blue, arrived on the scene to demonstrate against supporters, who wore red. The rallies soon devolved into intense violence, with over 150 injured, 15 were in a serious condition and at least 40 were hospitalised. Some 30 police officers were hurt. The chaos lasted for several hours.
Eritrean refugees say they warned police in Israel that there would be violence at the event but were not taken seriously.
Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai seized control from the city's district police chief on Saturday.
“We felt as if we were on the eve of a war, poring over the maps,” one police officer said. “Shabtai began giving orders directly to the commanders in the field ... and took control of the mess taking place there.”
The response
