Hundreds of German police used rubber batons and pepper spray to quell a crowd targeting an Eritrean cultural festival in the center of Giessen, the BBC reported.
In the city of Giessen, a festival organized for the Eritreans is held every year, and every year it ends with a mass brawl. We failed to break this tradition this year either. At first, the migrants only harassed motorists and blocked traffic.
They then attacked the police officers who were taking action, but also started harassing passers-by. Tempers were quickly unleashed.
Clashes lasted for hours on Saturday and 26 police officers were injured, according to a police statement.
The police arrested nearly a hundred people and traffic in the city center had to be stopped.
Protesters threw bottles and stones at the police, damaged some vehicles and tore down the fence surrounding the festival site. But the buses transporting the festival participants were also thrown.
In the videos published on Twitter, it can be seen that the crowds of protesters almost organized a "running race" with the police in the city.
26 German police officers were wounded yesterday after having been attacked by rock-throwing mobs in connection with the Eritrean festival in the city of Gießen
The police had asked a court to ban the march after large-scale violence erupted last year too pic.twitter.com/rVaCVN7bVZ
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 9, 2023
The background is obviously the Eritrean civil war. The festival is organized by supporters of the government, but opponents of the regime want to prevent it. This causes tension year after year. Last year, more than thirty people were arrested and several police officers were injured before the festival even started. In the end, the series of events could not be held because of security risks.
The city tried to ban the demonstration regularly associated with the event, but this motion failed in the administrative court. The locals are terrified because they are afraid that a migrant riot similar to the one in France could break out in Germany as well.
In recent years, Germany has granted asylum to many Eritreans - they form one of the largest groups of African migrants seeking to settle in the EU.
Human rights organizations have documented widespread abuses by Eritrean authorities, including strict censorship, forced labor and military conscription, the BBC reported.
