Chlorakas in fear of armed gangs

[memory man]

The murder of a Syrian man in Chlorakas in Paphos last month is the most violent in a growing number of incidents that is spreading fear among residents and has forced the community leader to appeal for state help over groups of young, armed, single men.

Police patrols have increased, and the community board is also paying for three private security guards to monitor the area in the wake of the murder of 20-year-old Jamal Alhadzi who was killed in Chlorakas after being stabbed multiple times.

A total of 11 suspects, all Syrian, face murder charges over Alhadzi’s death, apparently over matters of honour.

There are three or four ‘hot spots’ which are home to around 250 young Syrian men, some of them even alleged Isis members, Nikolas Liasides, Chlorakas’ community leader, told the Sunday Mail.

“For them, it is normal to carry weapons, including knives, and fight over seemingly trivial incidents,” he said.

Interior Minister Nicos Nouris confirmed his ministry had been informed of the community’s fears.

“The government is aware of the problem in Chlorakas and we are cooperating with the local authorities,” Nouris told the Sunday Mail on Friday. He said he was not aware that some of the men were alleged Isis members, and would not be drawn to make further comment.

The situation has spread serious concerns in the wider community, among long-term Syrian residents who fear the newer arrivals.

“These young men been arriving in Cyprus over the last 18 months or so. Chlorakas is not racist, I want to make that clear, and the Syrian community that was established in the area some years ago are lovely people, but these new people are something different,” Liasides said.

The group have also targeted long-term female Syrian residents, including one who was recently accosted and berated on a Chlorakas street when visiting a friend.

They admonished her for driving a car, wearing make-up and being too ‘modern’. Despite this incident, she believes that the younger members would benefit from professional psychological support and help from the state as violence and a lack of respect are all they have experienced their entire lives. The older ones should just be deported, she said. She spoke on condition of anonymity.

“They approached me in the street and told me I am not a living correctly as a Muslim and shouldn’t wear my hijab as I have no right to, and to take it off,” the young woman told the Sunday Mail.

“They called me ‘the dirty one’. They are all Jihads. I showed I was strong in front of them, even though I was very scared. They told me stay at home as this is what women should do. Many [Syrian] families are afraid of them.”

A group of around 250 young men aged between 18 to 25 are the main troublemakers, Liasides said. They are single with no family members or responsibilities and are living in large groups in apartments meant for four or five maximum, but housing around 12, he said.

“They have started to create major problems. There are many complaints from residents and there are not enough police in Paphos, there aren’t enough officers, and they can’t be everywhere at the same time,” he said.

Liasides said this was why he has informed the interior ministry and appealed for help.

Paphos police confirmed that extra officers patrol these areas in Chlorakas and that check points are regularly set up.

“They make trouble and drive dangerously. We find them in possession of knives and other weapons and they are arrested. They are mainly asylum seekers and those of protected status,” a police spokesman told the Sunday Mail.

One of the areas which has become problematic is a tourist resort which is now home to large groups of men. The development, which was once a hub for holidaymakers from the UK and other markets, mostly stopped letting for holidays from January and now around 200 Syrians are living there, and, according to the community leader, people are afraid to go near the place.

“I live close to this development and it is a horrible situation. My family and I are afraid. There are large groups of men congregating and they often shout and have fights with each other. They also race around the roads and hassle women when they’re walking,” a Chlorakas resident said.

Liasides confirmed that arguments between the men can quickly escalate. A disagreement could erupt over something as simple as a parking space or 20 euros.

“They call their friends and then 20 people come to a simple disagreement and they carry knives and use them. We have two or three fights with knives, between this group every week,” he said.

Liasides said that the men had arrived by boat in the last two or three years.

A local Syrian charity volunteer confirmed that such men arrive by sea, crossing over from the north of the island, claim asylum, request protection or are refugees. They do not have identification and after being processed, inform authorities that they have a cousin or friend living in Chlorakas, and make their way to Paphos,

“We have good relations with the Syrian community in Chlorakas, they have families here and are good people. They are very afraid of this group, they don’t want to have any problems with them,” Liasides said.

Chlorakas’ population is now around 7,000, 1,000 of them from Syria.

This large number has led to a ‘break down in the system’ and the state needs to help and distribute nationalities arriving in Cyprus across the island so that they can integrate properly, he said.

https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/05/24/chlo ... med-gangs/

[trevnhil]

I wonder if this was the reason for the roadside check in Chloraka on Friday afternoon.. The Police were stopping vehicles near the entrance to the village a few hundred mts from Paps.

[WHL]

Fouda comes to Paphos ,

[Dominic]

We drove through that twice. A couple of people were being arrested the second time. The first time we were puzzled as it looked like one of the SMS roadblocks to start with. When we saw people getting arrested on our way back we assumed it was something different.

[Kili01]

It sounds a bit scary as the CY Mail article mentions the number of young Syrian males who have arrived in Cyprus and are now classified as being Asylum seekers. They are all living in the village. It sounds as if the Govt should move them to more secure surroundings if they are causing trouble.

Dee

[Kili01]

It sounds a bit scary as the CY Mail in today's Sunday Mail.article mentions the number of young Syrian males who have arrived in Cyprus and are now classified as being Asylum seekers. They are all living in the village. It sounds as if the Govt should move them to more secure surroundings if they are causing trouble.

Dee

[Dominic]

Why do you keep double posting?

[Kili01]

I don't usually, but I forgot to check it.

[Chaddy]

I don't usually, but I forgot to check it.

I do this myself Kili,.,,,,but an advantage of being in advancing years is that i can pull the " age card " and get away with it,,,,,," it was just a senior moment "

[Kili01]

I'm in the same age group too! So I had better do this as well...
Usually I check afterwards to make sure that I don't do this...

Dee

[chris&pam]

Yes, round them up by doing an early morning raid.....ship them out to a war zone and let them fight their way out of that....Come on Cyprus get a grip or you'll end up like the UK. P

[Firefly]

Sadly very true, we should have done this to start with. Too late now for the UK.

[Dominic]

If the UK had a time machine it would probably be more prudent to shift it back a couple of centuries to the time before they conquered a large portion of the world.

[josef k]

Yes, round them up by doing an early morning raid.....ship them out to a war zone and let them fight their way out of that....Come on Cyprus get a grip or you'll end up like the UK. P

I think you will find they have escaped from a war Zone, Syria. You will probably find that war and conflict is all they have known.

You can't just round people up for being young and Syrian. You have to wait until people have broken the law, and then arrest them and put them through legal process.

[jeba]

Yes, round them up by doing an early morning raid.....ship them out to a war zone and let them fight their way out of that....Come on Cyprus get a grip or you'll end up like the UK. P

I think you will find they have escaped from a war Zone, Syria. You will probably find that war and conflict is all they have known.

You can't just round people up for being young and Syrian. You have to wait until people have broken the law, and then arrest them and put them through legal process.

Doesn´t Cyprus have refugee camps where they have to live? Just as Greece is having refugee camps.

[WHL]

Sadly very true, we should have done this to start with. Too late now for the UK.

Yep that's wht you get for plundering a third of the world, stealing and enslaving people, I think the word is Karma

I forgot to mention Blair making phoney wars, and creating millions of homeless refugees

[Jim B]

My daughter lives in the centre of the village and said there's been a high Police presence for the last couple of weeks. She said the Syrian families who live there are very nice and friendly but the problem is refugees who have come from the occupied areas and they are frightening and threatening the Syrians who have lived in Cyprus for several years.
The Green Line is porous and the Turkish side isn't making any effort to stop asylum seekers from heading south. That's the reason there has been a large influx of Sub-Saharan Africans, they go to the occupied areas supposedly to study and then head south destroying their documents. As soon as they arrive in the ROC controlled areas they claim political asylum.
The locals are spitting feathers because they believe the asylum seekers are getting preferential treatment over the locals.

Jim

[Firefly]

WHL

I couldn't agree more re. Blair, the man has a lot to answer for. He still can't keep his nose out of our politics.

[Jim B]

What's Blair got to do with gangs in Chlorakas?

Jim

[Kili01]

That was the Iraqi War. These refugees are from the Syrian War which was a civil war, with the US forces involved on one side then latterly the Russian forces who waded in to help President Assad. A thoroughly ruthless dictator. In this war Britain played a more minor role.

The current Syrian refugees are from.. you guessed it! I thought that I have read that many have arrived in inflatable boats.They are absolutely nothing to do with Blair. Unfortunately some of them apparently are members of Isis. Maybe they are the main trouble makers. I wish that something could be done to put them somewhere else which is more secure to keep them off the streets of Chlorakas.

Dee