Nine British soldiers have been arrested after allegedly going on the rampage in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa in Cyprus, the BBC reported Sunday.
Cyprus police said they received a phone call to report a disturbance in the resort's Bedrock Pub, where about 20 soldiers were celebrating the end of their tour of duty on early Saturday morning.
Five people were injured, including one of the soldiers, in the brawl when people allegedly threw tables, chairs and bottles in the pub.
A spokesman for British forces in Cyprus described it as "the most serious incident... for some time."
"The Army cannot condone any form of violence or destruction to Cypriot property. If found guilty in a court of law there will be other consequential penalties from the military," the BBC quoted spokesman Dennis Barnes as saying.
The nine will face a range of public disorder offences and the inquiries into the incident are continuing, said a Ministry of Defense spokesman in London.
British forces have been banned from parts of the resort after a string of violence and drunken incidents a decade ago.
Britain has a total of around 3,000 troops at two military bases on the divided island. Source:Xinhua
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