Four men were arrested on Tuesday evening after found staying in apartments in Chlorakas, Paphos, in violation of the decree banning international protection applicants from living in the village.

The four men, all from the Congo, were arrested during a police raid between 3pm and 9pm on Tuesday in an apartment complex in Chlorakas.

They were taken to the central Paphos police station where they were charged and released, to appear in court at a later date.

The owner of the building has also been charged for the same offence.

The decree in question bans international protection applicants from residing in Chlorakas, after complaints from the local community of numerous problems due to the fact that the demographics had rapidly changed with the settlement there of large numbers of Syrian refugees. It excludes those who were living in Chlorakas before the decree was put in effect and their family members who arrived at the Republic at a later stage.

Around 20 per cent of the Chlorakas population is Syrian, authorities said earlier in the year when the decree came into effect.