Police were called to the scene around 5 p.m. Saturday and told two groups of people were engaged in violent activity
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Up to 150 people participated in a violent fight late Saturday afternoon in the northeast community of Falconridge.
“The Calgary Police Service considers this to be a serious event and has dedicated resources to keep the peace,” police said in a Saturday night media release. “This is not a protest. This is a violent conflict between two groups with opposing views.”
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Police were called to the scene around 5 p.m. Saturday and told two groups of people were engaged in violent activity. When they arrived, they separated the groups and worked to de-escalate the situation, noting “many of those involved were brandishing weapons.” A video of the scene posted online showed men with bats and sticks.
An investigation is ongoing, in which police are looking at property damage, the violence involved and all relevant, associated criminal activity. Police asked people to stay away from Falconridge as they investigated Saturday night.
“Our primary goal is to ensure public safety,” they said in the release. “We are working with the involved groups to maintain the peace.”
They also indicated Calgarians should be reassured that all appropriate resources were being deployed.
The confrontation may be related to similar Eritrean conflicts that have been occurring in cities around the world, including a recent riot in Edmonton in mid-August.
The Edmonton Journal/Edmonton Sun reported that incident was a chaotic scene with few if any parallels in Edmonton’s history: hundreds of men clashing on a field — some in blue, others in orange — carrying sticks and poles flying brightly coloured flags. The conflict pitted members of the city’s Eritrean community against one another and led officers to take the rare step of proclaiming the Riot Act.
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Police responded, during which stones, bricks and other objects were hurled at officers in riot gear.
The chaos began at a field in west Edmonton, where organizers had planned events for the annual Eritrean Festival.
The long-running festival celebrates the history and culture of the East African nation, but both organizers and police say they were aware of the potential for violence. Other Eritrean festivals in Europe, the United States and Toronto this year were marked by clashes involving blue-shirted protesters opposing the Eritrean government.
A petition posted online weeks before the Edmonton event called for the festival to be shut down, claiming it was “sponsored” by the Eritrean regime, considered among the most oppressive in Africa.
Organizers of the Edmonton event denied they were acting on behalf of the government and dismissed claims Eritrea’s unelected regime is using them to raise funds.
Rival Eritrean groups engage in clashes worldwide
Similar protests involving rival Eritrean groups have been also popping up in other countries.
Bloody protests Saturday by rival groups of Eritreans in south Tel Aviv left dozens of people injured. Eritreans, supporters and opponents of Eritrea’s government, faced off with construction lumber, pieces of metal and rocks, smashing shop windows and police cars. Israeli police in riot gear shot tear gas, stun grenades and live rounds while officers on horseback tried to control the protesters.
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Elsewhere on Saturday, Norway’s second-largest city, Bergen, witnessed clashes between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean government during a rally commemorating the country’s independence day. Norwegian authorities said government opponents threw bottles and stones at rally participants.
Large numbers of police forces with shields and visors fanned out on the streets, and parts of Bergen’s city center were cordoned off because of the violence. Over 100 people were involved in the clashes and at least three people were detained, while one person was injured, Norwegian authorities said.
In early August, Swedish media reported that about 1,000 protesters stormed an Eritrean festival in Stockholm, the capital, setting booths and cars on fire and using rocks and sticks as weapons, leaving at least 52 people injured and more than 100 people detained.
Eritera’s President Isaias Afwerki, 77, has been in power since 1993 after the country won independence from Ethiopia following a long guerrilla war. There have been no elections and no free media, and exit visas are required for Eritreans to leave the country. Many young people are forced into military service with no end date, human rights groups and United Nations experts say.
— With files from Jonny Wakefield and The Associated Press
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