At least four police officers were injured during a riot outside a conference centre in The Hague on Saturday night.
Two officers injured their hands, one injured their teeth, and one was hit by a police car — but the police have not commented on the severity of the injuries.
On top of the injuries, some serious damage was done around the area, as vehicles and property were set on fire, and several windows were broken.
As the NOS reports, several people have been arrested, and the police are in contact with witnesses to the riots.
So, what happened?
The riots broke out after two groups of Eritreans (people from Eritrea, a country in East Africa) clashed during an event on Saturday night.
Pro-government Eritreans had organised a New Year’s party at the Opera Hall Centre, and things escalated after opponents of the Eritrean regime arrived at the meeting.
The 500 to 600 guests initially did not engage with them, and the meeting didn’t seem political. Later on, things got out of hand.
According to the mayor of the Hague, Jan van Zanen, young people from the ‘Brigade Nhamedu’ organisation came to confront the meeting.
The opposition group believe that cultural gatherings like this one glorify the Eritrean regime, and “they do anything they can” to disrupt them.
Not the first time
This incident isn’t the first time Eritreans have clashed in the Netherlands. Several people were also injured following a mass brawl in Rijswijk, where Eritrean Independence Day was being celebrated in May, reported the NOS.
Measures were taken by Van Zanen and the meeting organisers for this event, but apparently, it was not enough to manage the crowd.
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