At least four police officers were injured early Sunday in clashes in The Hague between rival groups of Eritreans, who set police cars on fire and threw stones.
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Special units of the Dutch police fired tear gas at those involved, According to the authorities, they belonged to groups for and against the Eritrean government who were attending a meeting in The Hague.
“During the riots, stones, fireworks and other objects were thrown at police officers and firefighters. Several people carried weapons to hit people,” security forces said.
Two police cars and a bus were set on fire. Two officers suffered injuries to their hands, another to their teeth. and a fourth officer was hit by a police car.
“Our colleagues were faced with very intense and serious violence out of nowhere,” said police commander Marielle van Vulpen. Police made several arrests and requested testimonies and video recordings to investigate the riots.
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Far-right anti-immigration leader Geert Wilders, who won the Dutch legislative elections in November but is still trying to form a government, posted images of the riots on social media with the phrase “Detain and Deport” in capital letters.
“The Netherlands is fed up with this. Why do we let half the world in to destroy our country, fight among themselves, stone the police and set fire to their cars?” he added in X. Some 25,000 Eritreans live in the Netherlands. , according to government figures.
Pro- and anti-government groups have already clashed on other occasions, such as last year, when several people were stabbed before an event to celebrate Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia.
AFP
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