Falconridge Brawl Leaves Residents Shaken

Police responded Saturday to reports of a large, violent conflict at the Falconridge Plaza shopping centre outside of the Magnolia Banquet Hall. Officers descended on the area between McKnight Boulevard and Castleridge Drive to separate the two groups, comprising roughly 150 people, some of whom were using sticks, rocks and bats as weapons. {snip}

The incident happened at a community festival for the local Eritrean diaspora. Such gatherings have been targeted in cities worldwide — including similar violent spats in 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.

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