Greek Cypriot residents of the village of Chloraka and other areas in the Paphos province of Cyprus tried to take the law into their own hands yesterday, protesting the presence of illegal migrants who continually create problems and have ghettoised the settlement.
The incidents ended with the arrest of four Greek Cypriots who possessed weapons. At the same time, it was established that they had taken part in attacks against houses inhabited by foreigners.
Yesterday, after a protest, various groups of locals with sticks, shovels and knives scattered through the streets of the village, fighting with illegal immigrants. The locals were provoked when the illegal immigrants climbed onto the roofs of houses and stated throwing stones.
However, the possession of weapons by some Greek Cypriots shows that some had gone to the event in an organised manner. There are suspicions that members of a far-right organisation had infiltrated among the protesting residents.
The incidents caused damage to houses and cars, but there were no serious injuries. The head of the Cyprus Police, Stelios Papatheodorou, rushed to the area, while the local police were also reinforced with personnel. Throughout the evening, the area was under police cordon to prevent further incidents.
In the Chlorakas area, there is an overconcentration of illegal immigrants, mainly from Syria, and residents have long been complaining about theft, attacks and cleanliness problems. The foreigners had been occupying an abandoned building complex for months, turning it into a ghetto.
At the same time, residents of the area expressed their annoyance at events by foreigners, where they marched through the streets holding copies of the Qu'ran.
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