Cyprus police arrest at least 13 people after anti-immigrant march turns violent

Cyprus police, on Saturday (September 2) said that they have arrested 13 people after an anti-migrant march turned violent and a mob smashed storefronts and set numerous trash bins on fire in the coastal resort city of Limassol. The police said that some five people were injured after being assaulted during Friday night’s protest that involved some 500 people.

What happened?

According to reports, a group of people wearing hoods attacked migrants and their businesses in Limassol on Friday evening.

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A report by the Associated Press citing amateur video broadcast on local news outlets and websites said several damaged storefronts, trash bins burning in the street and a group of protesters chanting anti-immigrant slogans.

Police also used water cannons to disperse protesters, some of whom even held a banner that read “Refugees not welcome,” reported AFP.

This comes amid reported tensions over an influx of migrants on the east Mediterranean island nation where officials are struggling to cope with the numbers.

Cyprus, a European Union member, has said that it is the “front-line country” on the Mediterranean migrant route with the latest data showing that the island nation has the highest number of first-time asylum applications than the rest of the 27-member countries of the bloc.

According to officials in Cyprus, migrants comprise six per cent of their population more than five times that of the average in other EU member nations.

Injuries and arrests

According to the police, at least five people were injured due to the unrest that broke out during Friday night’s march. All five have since been treated in the hospital and released.

Officers also arrested 13 people, including the alleged organiser of the march.

‘Images of shame’: Cyprus president

After the violence, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides condemned what he called “images of shame,” and said that the violence was the product of a group of petty criminals with no real connection to the migration situation.

“There is not much that can be said other than the embarrassing images we have seen,” a visibly angry Christodoulides told reporters, as quoted by AFP.

He added, “They have nothing to do with dealing with immigration. If all those involved (in the Limassol incidents) loved or cared about our country, they would not have taken such actions which, above all, insult our country.”

Meanwhile, a pro-immigrant demonstration has been planned for Saturday evening, as per AP.

Previous violence

The incident on Friday night also comes days after a group of Greek Cypriots wearing hoods and armed with bats attempted to attack protesting Syrians in a small village where tensions have recently run high between locals and migrants.

The police had also arrested some two dozen people in connection with that violence which broke out four days ago in the southeastern village of Chloraka where parallel protests by some 250 Syrians and an equal number of Greek Cypriots degenerated into violence, reported the AP.

(With inputs from agencies)

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