Chlorakas residents’ protest over power supply takes violent turn

Police said they used chemical agents to disperse a group of residents of an apartment complex in Chlorakas protesting an electricity cut amidst extremely high temperatures.

Around 100 people who have had their electricity supply cut gathered outside the community council officers on Monday afternoon demanding to be housed somewhere with the facilities they need.

But local authorities said the residents have been stealing water and power from a substation of the electricity authority. The station has now been put under guard.

The protest, which started a few minutes before 7pm, was initially peaceful, until some demonstrators moved towards the EAC’s substation around 10pm. They were allegedly trying to restore the electricity supply.

Then, the police anti-riot unit intervened and the residents started throwing rocks at the officers.

Police made a limited use of chemical irritants and protestors left around 11.30pm.

She added that the rear windshield of a police vehicle was damaged from the rock throwing.

It is understood that protesters are residents of a housing complex in Chlorakas which was reported to have 600 third-country nationals living there in 2022. In June, three arrests were made at the specific residential complex over electricity theft.

For his part, the president of the Chlorakas community council, Nikolas Liasides, told CNA that the situation “has become worse”, referring to the large influx of migrants in recent years.

He noted that the people of the community are ready to take action against the situation and called on the state to adopt immediate measures.

Earlier this year, Chlorakas residents held an anti-migration demonstration saying that they are not racist, “but against those who do not respect the law, the culture, the language, and religion of Cyprus”.