Nigerians to be deported over Pournara fight

Over 30 people were arrested at Pournara reception centre and two were injured from fighting that broke out on Monday night, police said on Tuesday morning.

According to reports, groups of Nigerian and Syrian migrants fought in the night, forcing the intervention of the police, who used tear gas to stop the fights.

After the fighting stopped, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou was informed, and he requested that everyone be arrested and immediately deported.

Police on Tuesday said that 33 people had been arrested for the fighting, while reports from media in the area said that more people had been arrested.

Two people were injured in the fighting police said, and they were taken to Nicosia general for treatment.

Later Tuesday, further information and clarification on the deportations surfaced with Ioannou instructing for more asylum application agents to be sent to Pournara to examine the applications of the people involved in the fighting.

He instructed that the applications of the Nigerians be examined immediately, so that they can be deported.

Ioannou is currently in Madrid to inaugurate a press and information office exhibit, and he has held meetings with his Spanish counterpart Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gómez on the migration issue.