Erdogan slams mosque attacks in Cyprus

Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, slammed the recent arson attempt on a mosque in the Greek-administered part of the island, Anadolu News Agency reports.

According to the report, Erdogan said the attacks on Muslim houses of worship in Cyprus will not go unanswered.

“We strongly condemn the arson attack against the Grand Mosque in Larnaca, the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus,” Erdogan told reporters on Monday.

Reportedly, the Grand Mosque, located at the beginning of Larnaca’s old Turkish quarter, was about to be set on fire on 2 December.

According to Greek Cypriot media, no casualty was reported, while police detained at least one suspect.

Mosques on the southern part of Turkish Cypriot Island are often targeted in racist attacks, including vandalism and Molotov cocktail attacks.

Last March, a group of far-right Greek Cypriot so-called activists attacked and defaced a mosque in Limassol, drawing a cross and writing “death to all Turks” on its walls.

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