RAF man stabbed in Dhekelia

By Charlie Charalambous

A BRITISH serviceman was in a serious but stable condition yesterday after being stabbed in what the military described as an “unprovoked attack”.

RAF corporal Christopher Sweeney, 28, underwent emergency surgery at Larnaca General hospital yesterday morning during which part of his intestine was removed.

“We can confirm it was an unprovoked attack on a British serviceman which took place at around midnight on Thursday while he was walking in the Dhekelia base area,” said British Forces Cyprus spokesman Captain Jon Brown yesterday. “He received a single puncture wound to the abdomen and consequently received emergency surgery at Larnaca general hospital this morning.”

According to the military police investigation, Sweeney was drinking with his brother Martin at the Orange Grove restaurant in Vrysoules shortly before the attack.

Martin eventually went home to his pregnant wife, leaving his brother behind to continue drinking.

Later, as Christopher walked back alone he was jumped on and knifed. He managed to reach his brother’s quarters before being discovered in a pool of blood by his pregnant sister-in-law.

“I was walking along when a man came out of nowhere and stabbed me for no reason,” Christopher Sweeney told British military police yesterday.

The wounded serviceman is not based in Cyprus but was visiting his brother, also an RAF corporal, who is serving with the British forces on the island.

The assailant and motive for the attack are unknown, but the British bases do not believe a fellow serviceman carried out the assault.

“There is no indication it was a serviceman. We don’t know why it happened, ” said a bases source.

British military police are investigating the incident with the assistance of the Cyprus police.

The victim is based with the RAF in Germany and comes from Burnley in Lancashire.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.