It was learnt that the incident that happened last week, occurred at Pournara Reception Center in Kokkinotrimithia, due to the overpopulation of migrants and the fact that they come from different countries of origin.
There was tension as Nigerian migrants battled their counterparts from Syria in a stone-throwing brawl in a migrant camp in Pournara, Cyprus.
It was learnt that the incident that happened last week, occurred at Pournara Reception Center in Kokkinotrimithia, due to the overpopulation of migrants and the fact that they come from different countries of origin.
The stone-throwing battle was said to have started when a Nigerian migrant was hit by a Syrian foreigner, and as a result around 23.00 (11 pm), a group of his compatriots started throwing stones against Syrians living in the same complex and later extended outside.
As a result, policemen and migrants were injured while damages occurred to vehicles belonging to the police and staff working there.
Immediately, strong police forces intervened, used tear gas and calm was restored.
According to In-Cyprus, the incident again highlighted the challenges of having several people living together in an establishment initially built to host 600 people.
Currently, there are around 2,000 migrants there from various countries and despite the separation, conflicts are frequent and are triggered by minor issues.
Then some migrants got out of the centre and new incidents began. Once again, the police intervened to quell the crisis.
Five foreigners were injured during the clash as well as two members of the police force and two guards.
Meanwhile, the police remain on the alert while preventive measures are implemented both inside and outside the facility.
The small Mediterranean island of Cyprus had pinned the blame for the migration ’emergency’ on Turkey.
“For us, this is a state of emergency,” Interior Minister, Nicos Nouris said, adding that 4.6 percent of the country’s population now are asylum seekers or beneficiaries of protection, the highest ratio in the EU.
The Greek Cypriot minister accused Turkey, whose troops have since 1974 occupied the island’s northern third, of encouraging much of the influx of Syrian refugees and arrivals from sub-Saharan Africa.
Rights groups and observers have criticised Cyprus for squalid conditions in its overcrowded main migrant camp, which was rocked by clashes this month, and for alleged brutal treatment of migrants.