Further remands for welfare violence

FIVE Palestinian refugees were yesterday remanded in custody for three days, in connection with Thursday’s violent clashes between refugees and police at the Larnaca welfare office.

The five Palestinians are all under the age of 16 and currently attend Cypriot high schools.

A further four refugees were remanded in custody on Friday, bringing the total to nine.

However police are still looking for more suspects involved in Thursday morning’s violence, when between 50 and 100 asylum seekers protested against a 10 day delay in their January benefit cheque.

After a protracted meeting between four representatives of the crowd and the Larnaca welfare authorities, around 30 protestors stormed the offices injuring one police officer. Police had been manning the scene for security purposes.

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.