A violent brawl between two Roma groups shut down a busy road in Rhodes on Thursday evening, trapping drivers and terrif...

A violent brawl between two Roma groups shut down a busy road in Rhodes on Thursday evening, trapping drivers and terrifying residents for nearly 40 minutes. The fight broke out at around 7:40 p.m. outside a café on Kallithea Avenue in the Korakonero area, then spilled into the middle of the road during peak traffic. The two sides attacked each other with improvised weapons, including wooden planks up to 106 cm long, an iron bar, a metal stool leg, and aluminium poles ripped from mops and umbrellas. Traffic came to a complete stop, leaving drivers trapped in their cars while the brawl raged around them. Residents later described the scene as a "war zone." Officers from the Rhodes OPKE police unit arrived at around 8:20 p.m. and detained all nine people involved. All are Greek citizens from the local Roma community, ranging in age from 16 to 46. One group of seven included five people sharing the same surname, while the other group consisted of two brothers. Police seized 13 objects in total and charged all nine with weapons-law violations. No injuries were reported. The suspects appeared before a prosecutor and requested until Monday to prepare their case, and remain in custody at Rhodes police station. Residents near the Korakonero settlement say this kind of incident is nothing new, and are demanding that authorities take concrete action to maintain public order in the area. The OPKE unit recovered all weapons from the scene. #Rhodes #Greece #PublicOrder