NEWSCanadian soldiers arrested after drunken brawl with Cypriot police
NICOSIA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Three Canadian soldiers stationed in Afghanistan were briefly arrested in the southern Cypriot city of Limassol, following a drunken brawl with local police outside a club, the Cyprus Sunday Mail reported.
The soldiers were among 200 Canadians from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), a NATO-led stabilization force in Afghanistan. They were on leave in Cyprus.
The incident happened on Saturday when the drunken Canadians swore at a nightclub guard in a tourist area after being requested to show identification to enter the club, said Limassol police.
Nearby police officers intervened but the soldiers began swearing at them as well and when the police moved to arrest them, the Canadians attacked them.
The three soldiers were arrested and two injured policemen were taken to hospital with bruises and scratches.
Limassol police said that the three Canadian soldiers were charged and released a few hours after their arrest. They were due to leave Cyprus on Sunday.