Clashes between Eritreans and police in Stuttgart, Germany, on Saturday led to the arrest of 228 people, local police said on Sunday.

German police said dozens of people, including at least 26 police officers, were injured in unrest surrounding an Eritrean cultural festival in the southwestern city of Stuttgart.

Just before the event began on Saturday afternoon, about 200 protesters gathered outside and began throwing rocks, bottles, and other objects at police and event attendees. Police said six of the 26 injured officers were treated at the hospital. According to the police, four people attending the event and two protesters were also injured, although there was no immediate information on the severity of their injuries. Saturday's protests were the latest in a series of unrest surrounding Eritrean cultural events in Germany and elsewhere. In July, clashes at an Eritrean festival in Giessen, western Germany, left 22 police officers injured. Fighting between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean government in Tel Aviv in early September led to one of the most violent street clashes between asylum seekers and African migrants in recent memory in the city.

Saturday's event was organised by several groups considered close to the government of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.

Tens of thousands of people have fled Eritrea for Europe, many saying they were mistreated by Isaias's repressive government. Conflicts over protests like Saturday's highlight deep divisions between members of the Eritrean diaspora who remain close to the government and those who have fled into exile. and strongly opposed Isaias.

On Saturday, Stuttgart Police Vice President Carsten Hoefler condemned the protesters' actions and said in a statement that "neither the scale nor the intensity of the violence was foreseen."