Alwaght- At least 28 people have been killed in Eritrea while protesting a government decision to take over control of an Islamic school.
Reports on Wednesday said some 100 people had also been injured in the protest, which began earlier Monday and escalated on Tuesday.
Nasredin Ali, a spokesman for the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization, a group based in neighboring Ethiopia, said clashes began after people resisted to hand over to government forces control of a Muslim community school in Asmara.
“Following the refusal to hand over the school, some 40 people were arrested and this led to the massive protests,” he said, adding that a tense atmosphere continued to dominate Asmara on Wednesday as people gathered to hold a funeral ceremony for those slain in the clashes. Ali even said that the Eritrean army was deploying troops to the city.
Authorities denied there were fatalities with Information Minister Yemane Meskel saying police had managed to disperse without any casualty the “small demonstration by one school in Asmara.”
Activists say the protests began on Tuesday after the government ordered an Islamic school to ban the headscarf and halt religious education.
The violence centered on the predominantly Muslim neighborhood of Akriya, where the Diaa Islamic School of Asmara of 3,000 students is located.
Displays of public protests are rare in Eritrea, a country often criticized for human rights abuses.
Officials representing Eritrea in the African Union mission in Ethiopia were not available for comment on the reports of unrest.
Sunni Muslims comprise half of Eritrea’s population while there are other practices of Islam that the government bans. The government also allows religious education in private schools but it strictly monitors if there is any political activity.
