Dozens injured in violent street clash between Eritreans and police in Tel Aviv

One of the most violent street clashes between African asylum seekers and migrants in Tel Aviv in recent memory has resulted in dozens injured in a violent street clash between African asylum seekers and migrants. Among those injured were 30 police officers and three protesters, who were hit by police fire. Eritreans from both sides faced off with construction lumber, pieces of metal, rocks and at least one axe, tearing through a neighborhood of south Tel Aviv where many asylum seekers live. Protesters smashed shop windows and police cars, and blood spatter was seen on sidewalks. A government supporter was lying in a puddle of blood in a children's playground. Israeli police in riot gear shot tear gas, stun grenades and live rounds while officers on horseback tried to control the protesters, who broke through barricades and hurled chunks of rocks at the police. Police said officers resorted to live fire when they felt their lives were in danger. The clashes came as the government of Eritrean Prime Minister John Cyrus celebrated the 30th anniversary of his rise to power. The event was held near the Eritrean embassy in south Tel Aviv. One of the worst human rights records in the world is Eritrea, which is located in a country with a poor human rights record. Asylum seekers in Israel and other parts of the world fear death if they return, the Israeli government said in a statement. Police said Eritrean government supporters and opponents had received permission for separate events Saturday and had pledged to stay away from each other. The promises were broken, the police commander Chaim Bublil, a police commander at Tel Aviv, said. A decision was made by the government opponents to break through the barriers, to clash with police, to throw stones, to hit police officers, Mr. Bublil told reporters at the scene. The police have arrested 39 people and confiscated tasers, knives and clubs. At least 114 people were hurt, including eight who were in serious condition, the Magen David Adom rescue service said. The others had moderate or mild injuries. Of those hurt, 30 were police officers, he said. Israel's Ichilov Hospital, a hospital in Tel Aviv, said it was treating 11 patients for gunshot wounds. Three protesters were wounded by police fire on Monday, police said. By late Saturday afternoon, the clashes had stopped. Police were still rounding up protesters, putting them on buses. Anti-government protesters wore sky blue shirts designed after Eritrea's flag in 1952, a symbol of opposition to the government of the east African nation, while government supporters wore purple shirts with a map of Eritrea. The most than 30,000 African asylum seekers in Israel are eritreans. They say they fled danger and persecution from a country known as the North Korea of Africa, with forced life-long military conscription in slavery-like conditions. Anti-governmental protesters in Eritrea have been criticized as asylum scum who have protested against similar events in Europe and North America. Since 1993, President Isaias Afwerki, 77, has led Eritrea, taking power after the country won independence from Ethiopia after a long guerrilla war. To leave the country, Eritreans must apply for exit visas. Several young people are forced into military service, with no end date for human rights groups and UN experts. Israel's future faces an uncertain future as the state has tried to deport them. Although they struggle to stay in squalid conditions, some say they enjoy some freedoms they never would have at home like the right to protest. As an Eritrean, asylum seekers are frequently hunted and harassed by the Eritrean government and its supporters inside Israel, said Sigal Rozen, a human rights activist at the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants. The event in Tel Aviv on Saturday is controversial because they raise money for the heavily sanctioned government and are used to pressure Eritreans far from home, said Elizabeth Chyrum, director of Human Rights Concern Eritrea.