COPENHAGEN, 3 Aug. (DPA/EP) –
More than 50 people were injured this Thursday, eight of them seriously, after violent riots broke out in the framework of a cultural festival dedicated to Eritrea in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
According to a police balance, a total of 52 people have suffered injuries of varying severity. Of the total, at least 15 have been taken to hospital, including eight in serious condition. Likewise, at least three agents have been injured.
Nearly 1,000 protesters, many of them armed with sticks, have thrown stones at officers, burned vehicles and started fights and fires around the festival. The authorities have already launched investigations into the riots, which have resulted in nearly 100 arrests.
The festival, linked to the authoritarian Eritrean regime led by President Isayas Afewerki, has been held for years in Stockholm and has a fair, seminars, debates or singing competitions, among other activities.
At least 26 officers were injured in early July at a similar festival dedicated to Eritrea in the German city of Giessen, where hundreds of rioters hurled rocks, bottles and smoke bombs at security forces.
Eritrea, with a population of around three million, is located in northeast Africa. Since gaining independence from Ethiopia 30 years ago, Afewerki has ruled the country with an iron fist, with political parties banned and press freedom severely restricted.
