Soldiers cause riot in bar

LONDON - Nine British soldiers have been arrested and two others are seriously ill in hospital after a bar-room brawl in the Cypriot holiday resort of Ayia Napa.

Two locals were also said to have been hurt after up to 20 soldiers from the 2nd battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, burst into the Bedrock Inn bar on Saturday and began throwing bottles and smashing tables and chairs.

The incident blights almost a decade of peaceful relations with the Cypriots and comes at a sensitive time as the southern side of the island approaches presidential elections.

The Cypriot authorities have charged one of the arrested soldiers with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm, which carries a maximum jail term of seven years. Eight others face a variety of lesser charges.

- INDEPENDENT