Two local youths arrested after Geri gang attack

Two young men were arrested Tuesday night in Geri, where police officers responding to a call saw a gang damaging a burning car, whose owner says he and his buddies were ambushed by men holding wooden bats and knives.

According to police, a group of individuals who were seen causing damage to a vehicle in Geri, a suburb south of Nicosia, managed to escape when officers arrived on the scene after 10pm.

The alleged perpetrators were seen causing damage to the vehicle using rocks and sticks, as the car was on fire, with most of them running away at the sight of police.

Officers managed to apprehend two suspects, described in local media as Greek Cypriots aged 19 and 21, who were then detained for questioning.

Fire fighters managed to extinguish the fire on the vehicle, which was in a field near an area where police said there was an altercation between young people.

The 21-year-old owner of the vehicle, described in local media as a Syrian national, reportedly told police in a written statement that he was with friends, also from Syria, when they were attacked by 20 to 30 knife-wielding strangers.

According to the statement, the car owner and his friends ran away, with him seeking refuge in a house near his residence and managing to see some of the perpetrators attacking his vehicle with rocks and sticks and then setting it on fire.

Police did not provide more details about the incident but told Knews on Wednesday morning that two suspects were scheduled to appear before a district judge later in the day.

Investigators declined to speculate on the motive of the alleged attack.