According to police and health officials, conflicts at an Eritrean Stockholm festival left about 50 civilians injured and others in custody on Thursday, with demonstrators vandalising the venue’s property.
“Another public gathering took place close to the festival site, during which a violent riot broke out,” police said, adding in a statement they had detained “around a hundred people.”
Police said they remained at the scene in a suburb northwest of Stockholm and were “continuing their efforts to disrupt criminal acts and restore order.” They said they had also opened an investigation into violent rioting and arson as well as obstructing the work of police and rescue services.
According to reports, about 1,000 anti-government protesters who were permitted to hold a protest nearby burst through a police barricade and invaded the festival.
They threw stones at police, tore down festival tents, and used tent spikes as weapons against the force.
According to a separate statement from the regional healthcare organisation Region Stockholm, seven patients had been transferred to hospitals as of 3pm on Wednesday.
Four of them had “serious injuries,” with the other three having sustained “minor injuries,” according to the authority, which added it had multiple units at the scene.
“It is a complicated and extensive operation. There are a lot of people in motion at the site and the total number of injuries is still unclear,” Patrik Soderberg, chief physician at Region Stockholm, was quoted saying.
Large clouds of black smoke could be seen rising into the air in footage from the site as automobiles and at least one tent caught fire.
People fleeing the scene stopped the neighbouring E18 freeway, which was partially shut down in both directions by police.
The long-running Eritrea-Scandinavia festival includes lectures, seminars, and discussions in addition to music, a bazaar, and a fairground. It will take place from Thursday to Sunday.