Cyprus receives demarche from Gulf nation, after tourists attacked in Limassol

Cyprus has received a demarche from an Arabian Gulf nation, after it emerged that far-right protestors attacked a tourist from their country, the permanent secretary of the foreign affairs ministry Kyriakos Kouros said on Sunday.

Kouros did not reveal the country that had sent the demarche, after the tourist returned in a wheelchair, but an earlier report in Cyprus Mail listed one Kuwaiti tourist among the injured in the violent attacks from far-right protestors.

“I received a demarche from the ambassador of an Arab country yesterday. A number of his citizens, innocent visitors in our country, were among the victims of the incidents in Limassol, one seriously injured,” Kouros said.

He added that the tourists cut their holiday short and left “quickly and afraid.”

Kouros posted the incident in the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, along with a picture of the group, one in a wheelchair.

“I wonder what they will say about us, when they return, about our culture,” he said.

He added that it was the first time that he felt so “uneasy” about such an incident in Cyprus.

“We should not have allowed it [the clashes] to develop into something so hideous,” he said.

He called on Cypriots to be more introspective and try and realise where the root of the evil is coming from, and “if the Cyprus we want is everyone’s responsibility.”

At least five foreigners were injured on Friday night, when a group of anti-migration protestors turned violent quickly and started attacking foreign bystanders on the Molos in Limassol, and then proceeded to lay ruin to migrant-owned business.

Meanwhile, in an announcement on social media, the deputy welfare ministry said that a Vietnamese woman, whose shop was smashed on Friday, will receive support from the state to rebuild.

The woman was shown in a video crying outside her shop, saying she has four children and she is raising them on her own.

In a reaction, another crowdfunding campaign was also started for the woman. People can donate here.