Tension rises at Cyprus migrant squat
Police in Cyprus were dispatched on Monday night to quell a brewing riot at a residential complex in Chloraka, a village some 3 kilometers from Paphos, on the island’s southwestern coast, that has reportedly been taken over by migrant squatters.
According to the Cyprus Times, the people living in the complex were protesting a decision by the authorities to cut off its water and electricity supply after warnings to evacuate the premises went unheeded.
The protesters, for their part, claim that they have nowhere else to go as local landlords refuse to rent their properties out to them.
Monday night’s tension was preceded by a march to the municipal council by some 50 residents of the squat, which has been deemed unsafe for habitation.
The head of the Chloraka community, Nikolas Liasidis, described the situation as “explosive” and said that the squatters need to be given an “ultimatum.”
Migrants reportedly started moving into the abandoned residential complex around four years ago. Some reports have suggested that they have electricity and water by illegally tapping the networks, charges that they have denied.
