TORONTO — Violence erupted at a festival for Toronto's Eritrean community on Saturday as participants clashed with demonstrators in exchanges that sent at least nine people to hospital.
City police ultimately deployed the riot squad to Earlscourt Park in the city's west end, where Festival Eritrea descended into chaos almost from the start. Skirmishes first broke out at around 10 a.m. and tensions continued throughout the day.
Protesters, Eritrean themselves, said they showed up to demonstrate against the festival, which they said supports the government of Eritrea.
The country has been described by human rights groups as one of the world’s most repressive. Since winning independence from Ethiopia three decades ago, the small Horn of Africa nation has been led by President Isaias Afwerki, who has never held an election. Millions of residents have fled the country to avoid conditions including forced military conscription.
On Saturday morning in Toronto, police said they first received reports of a person with a knife. Further tweets later indicated fights had broken out in the park and tents had been set on fire.
Toronto Paramedic Services Deputy Commander David Hissem said nine people were taken to hospital, only one of whom had serious injuries. Police described the other victims as sustaining non-life-threatening wounds.
But the morning's tension did not dissipate later in the day. By mid-afternoon, about 200 demonstrators had gathered across a roughly equal number of festival-goers separated by a wall of police.
By 5 p.m., protesters had blockaded the intersection of St. Clair Avenue West and Caledonia Park Road, bringing traffic and public transit in the area to a standstill. They parked a truck with a screen displaying videos, one of which read "cancel the festival of hate."
Alem Hagos said the demonstrators were defending themselves.
"They told us, 'we're going to shut (down) this event,'" she said the police told the demonstrators. "And then we find out they're still here."
She said police escorted demonstrators back to the festival.
The festival continued amid the protest, and there was no comment from organizers on the day's events.
Coun. Alejandra Bravo, who represents the ward where the park is located, denounced the outbreak of violence.
"I deplore the violent attack in Earlscourt Park this morning that has shaken our community," she wrote in a tweet. "Use of violence as an intimidation tactic is never acceptable."
Toronto has not been the only scene of such protests in recent days. Swedish media reported an Eritrea-themed cultural festival in a Stockholm suburb took a violent turn on Thursday when about a thousand protesters opposed to the African country's government stormed the event, leaving at least 52 people injured.
The protesters set booths and vehicles ablaze, sending smoke billowing into the sky. Swedish newspaper Expressen reported that up to a thousand protesters marched towards the festival grounds, pushing past police cordons and using sticks and rocks as weapons. Police later reported between 100 and 200 people were detained.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2023.
— With files from Fakiha Baig and The Associated Press
Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press
