Downtown clashes continue on the island

Police officers have been busy over the weekend with public incidents in two districts, with a number of arrests taking place in Paphos and three people ending up in hospital in Nicosia.

(Click here for an update to the story)

According to local media, a violent incident took place early Saturday morning in downtown Nicosia, where two gangs were involved in a brutal fight around the newly-inaugurated Stasikratous streetscape, east of Makariou Avenue.

Up to four individuals were injured during the fight between two groups, approximately 30 youths in one gang and some 15 in the other according to local reports, with loud screams and the sound of broken glass bottles being heard by residents in the area.

Ambulances rushed three people to the Emergency Room at Nicosia General Hospital, with reports of patrol cars swarming the area right across from the Lykavitos police station.

Police have not issued an official statement regarding the incident but told Knews on Monday that no arrests had been made in connection with the case. Additional reports said investigators were interested in obtaining security camera footage.

Media outlets speculated the incident took place between local football fans, presumambly based on rivalries. Members of one gang were reportedly seen holding wooden bats and approaching the area where they confronted the other group.

In a second incident over the weekend, police in Paphos arrested eight individuals on charges of public nuisance on Sunday evening.

Law enforcement agents were called to a public area in downtown Paphos where, according to a police statement, a number of individuals were talking loudly with some of them allegedly intoxicated.

According to a police statement issued about the incident, four persons were detained on suspicion of being drunk in public while four others were also taken down to the local station.

Police told Knews officers were responding to reports of clashes between men, saying the four suspects initially detained were caught in the act of being intoxicated while all eight persons were taken to the station for proof of identify.

Being drunk is not a crime in the Republic of Cyprus but it can be a punishable offence in connection with other crimes, such as public disturbance. While officers cannot legally carry out random inspections of identification documents, they have the authority to do so if they have reasonable suspicion that someone is involved in a specific crime.

All eight individuals, described as foreign nationals from Nepal, were later arrested on court warrants, while one of them either had no legal status or had fallen out of status based on the police report.

The two separate incidents are being investigated by CID in Paphos and Nicosia respectively.