Third man arrested over police car torching

Police arrested a third man in connection with the torching of a police car in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The man arrested is 22 years old and is also from Limassol. His arrest came hours after the arrest of a 19-year-old male on Wednesday and a 21-year-old man on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old was remanded in custody for four days on Wednesday, while the 19-year-old and the 22-year-old are both expected to appear in court on Thursday.

A police car had been set on fire on the road between the Limassol villages of Ypsonas and Erimi on Easter Saturday night, with Limassol police spokesman Lefteris Kyriakou describing the incident as an “organised attack”.

The car had been set on fire when police responded to a call regarding youths congregating with Molotov cocktails in hand.

Police had been informed that youths had been throwing Molotov cocktails and firecrackers at passing vehicles.

Riot police arrived on the scene and were subsequently attacked by about 100 people throwing Molotov cocktails, firecrackers and rocks at them. They deployed tear gas to disperse the crowds, but not before the group had set fire to one of the police vehicles.

Four other police cars sustained material damage in the incident.

Kyriakou added that that he believes the attack was a direct response to the heightened police presence and increased checks carried out in recent days ahead of the Easter period.