Police charge another six people in Falconridge brawl; 13 still wanted
Six more people face criminal charges in connection with a violent brawl in Falconridge more than three months ago.
A large clash involving about 150 people broke out Sept. 2 in a dispute related to strife in the East African nation of Eritrea.
The outburst of violence left shop fronts and vehicles damaged in the parking lot of Falconridge Plaza, and a dozen people with minor injuries.
Rahel Berhane Haile, 42, Tahani Osman, 20, Biniam Kinfe Yhdego, 24, Tesfabrahn Hidray Medhin, 45, Zerit Kidane, 40, and Amanuel Zeweldi, 52, have each been charged with one count of rioting and one count of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
They are expected in court Feb. 14, 2024.
There are now 27 people facing a combined 59 criminal counts in connection with the riot.
Of those, 10 were charged in late November, while 11 were accused several weeks before.
Police are still looking to identify 13 people in relation to the brawl. Their photos can be seen on the City of Calgary's website.
The incident shocked the city, with police Chief Mark Neufeld calling it the “largest violent event to happen in our city in recent memory,” though it followed similar confrontations mostly involving Eritrean expats at cultural festivals in Edmonton, Toronto and elsewhere in the world.
When the brawl took place, police initially broke it up but made no arrests due to its “intensity and to avoid further inflaming it,” acting deputy chief Scott Boyd previously told Postmedia.
“Our members who responded to this conflict were shocked by the blatant violence that was erupting around them, so, in that moment, it was not appropriate to lay charges,” said Boyd.
The incident happened at a community festival for the local Eritrean diaspora. Such gatherings have been targeted in cities worldwide — including Edmonton and Toronto — by protesters, often Eritrean exiles, who claim the events have been co-opted by the country's government to promote propaganda and raise money for the regime.
Eritrea's government has been led by President Isaias Afwerki, 77, since the country gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. His 30-year rule has been marred by multiple human-rights abuses, including the forced and indefinite military conscription of young people and the arbitrary detention of journalists and political dissidents, among various other issues, according to Amnesty International.
Eritrean officials have previously criticized the exiles responsible for the attacks, calling them “asylum scum.”
Postmedia News, with files from The Associated Press