60 arrested during demonstration against Eritrea Festival in Copenhagen The extent of the one-time flood in Hong Kong in photos and videos

Sixty people were arrested on Saturday during riots around an Eritrean festival in the Danish capital Copenhagen. As the Danish police announced, opponents of the festival had tried to gain access to the event site. When the officers prevented them from doing so, stones were thrown at the police. The officers responded with tear gas. There were initially no reports of injuries.

According to the Danish police, the incident was about a conflict between supporters and opponents of Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki, who rules the East African country with an iron fist. Similar incidents have recently occurred in several European countries, including Germany, and in Israel. The Eritrean festivals are typically organized by government supporters in Asmara, making them a target for government critics who have often fled Eritrea to escape persecution.

Eritrea, with approximately three million inhabitants, is located in northeastern Africa on the Red Sea and is largely isolated internationally. Afewerki has ruled the country in a one-party dictatorship since Ethiopia gained independence in a decades-long war 30 years ago. Other parties are banned and freedom of expression and press are severely restricted. There is no parliament, nor independent courts, nor civil society organizations. There is also a strict system of military service and forced labor, from which many people flee abroad. (sda/dpa)