The hooded mob which clashed with police in Limassol over the weekend, was made up of young men marking the one hundred days prior to being conscripted for mandatory armed service, police reported on Monday.
Thirteen individuals had been arrested for incidents in Limassol’s Ayia Fyla area on Friday night, involving public disturbance, setting fires, vandalism and attacking the police with rocks.
Those arrested, two 16-year-olds, eight 17-year-olds, two 18-year-olds, and a 19-year-old, remained in custody until Sunday night by order of the Limassol district court on Saturday. One of 17-year-olds was also arrested on traffic-related offences.
They were then charged in writing and released.
Police are currently seeking 19 more youths for the crimes, police spokeswoman Kyriaki Lambrianidou told the CyBC.
However, according to reports on Alphanews, parents of eight of those arrested said their children were not involved in the trouble. One mother said her son was merely in the area because he had gone to buy something from the kiosk.
She said police had responded immediately to complaints from worried residents after the group, mostly minors, began to gather near a bakery in the area.
“At first a small number of officers were dispatched and when they arrived they were attacked with rocks,” Lambrianidou said, adding that they departed for safety reasons and returned an hour and a half later to arrest the 13.
Authorities were first alerted at 9.30pm on Friday, when reports emerged of around 200 hooded individuals, armed with bats and rocks, gathered outside the bakery. Clashes broke out between them and objects were set on fire.
A stolen motorbike was also found at the scene.
“These incidents are completely unacceptable,” President Nikos Christodoulides said on Saturday while touring Larnaca. “There have already been arrests, and there will be more.”
Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis described the police response as immediate and effective, saying it prevented an escalation of violence.
“Thanks to the swift police response, the situation was contained, and worse consequences were avoided,” he added.