“We want it gone”: Larnaca villagers demand firing range closure after fire

Local fireLarnacaTop News “We want it gone”: Larnaca villagers demand firing range closure after fire We Want It Gone Larnaca Villagers Demand Firing Range Closure After Fire Relevant News Trump hits back at EU after Google faces €890m fine 28 July 2026 Athens and Nicosia’s united message 28 July 2026 “We want it gone”: Larnaca villagers demand firing range closure after fire 28 July 2026 Natasa Christoforou 28 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Yesterday’s fire, sparked by the firing range, was the final straw for residents of Kalo Chorio, Agia Anna and Psevdas. The three Larnaca district communities, along with Pyrga and Mosfiloti, have complained for years about the dangers posed by the Kalo Chorio firing range, after a string of serious incidents put local lives at risk. No government has ever listened. This time, they want to be heard. Residents want the firing range shut down immediately, after yesterday’s fire threatened homes and land built up over a lifetime. That was the conversation at the Psevdas coffee shop on Tuesday morning, where residents described shocking past incidents, including shells landing on a football pitch and near a school. Paraskevas Erotokritou said the situation yesterday had been dire. “We had to get up and leave our homes to save ourselves and avoid the danger. We went to Mosfiloti and Pyrga,” he said, adding that this happens every summer. “We have the same problem every year. The firing range needs to go, because it’s a dangerous spot for Kalo Chorio, Agia Anna and Psevdas. Shells have landed on the pitch while players were out there. That happened three or four years ago — one landed right in the changing rooms. It’s dangerous, do we need a priest to tell us that? They were lucky that time. Thank God it didn’t explode and kill someone. Fine, that one we can let go, a shell fell but we got away with it — but yesterday was a tragedy. Nobody sets off explosives at midday. Mari happened at 5:15 in the morning, and look what that caused — not at midday. Who destroys ammunition at 12:40 in the afternoon?” he asked. Asked what residents want from the government, he said: “Will anyone actually listen to what we ask for? They blamed the minister and the President yesterday, but it’s like a voice crying in the wilderness.” Asked whether he expects those responsible for the decision to be held accountable, he said they’ll grab some soldier, blame him and punish him instead. “But the real problem is stopping it from happening in the first place. Once it’s happened, then what?” Beside him, Savvas Petrou said he only wanted to make one point. “The firing range needs to leave our area. It causes us nothing but problems — fires, and shells landing everywhere. Last time one landed outside the Pyrga school. That was a few years ago. Are we supposed to keep living in danger? It needs to go.” Giorgos Olympiou, from Psevdas, grabbed his wife and fled the village the moment they were told to evacuate. “We went to Dali — my son’s married and lives there, where else were we going to go? We were in a panic, but what else could we do?” he asked. He said the best solution would be for the firing range to leave the area altogether, and for the National Guard to stop this kind of activity there. “They need to be more careful. There was a time fires broke out in there and we were terrified, because my house is further down. That’s been on my mind these past few days, because there are pine trees right behind my house,” he said. Costas Vasiliou, like most Psevdas residents, chose to stay in the village. “We could hear the fire engines but we didn’t leave the village. The fire was half a kilometre away. And it’s not just the firing range — there’s more to it. Since April they’ve been sending out notices telling people to clear their plots to prevent fires. Nobody’s done anything, not the community council, nothing — the plots are overgrown and there are houses right there,” he said, adding that if the wind had been blowing a different way yesterday, the fire would not have been so easy to put out. Asked whether he wants the firing range removed, he said yes. He also recalled a major fire in the 1990s, also caused by the firing range. “The shells land behind the mountain, and sometimes people find them,” he added. Read more: National Guard’s Kalo Chorio firing range faces second munitions mishap in months, as fire safety measures fail to stop blaze Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Trump hits back at EU after Google faces €890m fine Athens and Nicosia’s united message This will be judged on the outcome alone, nothing less Larnaca businessman arrested over investor fraud complaints Things to do on Tuesday, July 28 Major quake in southern Japan knocks out power, disrupts transport Trump to host Netanyahu, Zelenskiy as Ukraine, Iran wars reach critical stages Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.