Attack on Roma camp in Ukraine leave 1 dead, 4 injured

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Masked assailants have attacked a Roma camp in western Ukraine, killing one person and injuring four others including a child, police said Sunday.

The incident follows a series of attacks on Roma communities in Ukraine's capital Kiev and the cities of Lviv and Ternopil.

A group of masked individuals attacked the camp on the outskirts of Lviv late on Saturday with weapons including batons, police spokesman Yaroslav Trakalo said.

A 24-year-old man died from stab wounds, and four more people were hospitalized, including a 10-year-old Roma boy and a 30-year-old woman, the police spokesman said.

The boy has already been discharged from the hospital.

Roma people from Macedonia, Kosovo and Bulgaria are seen evicted by the police from the train station Lyon-Perrache where they settled their camp. /VCG

Police said that they have already detained seven attackers who are aged 16 and 17 and a 20-year-old organizer, and found the knife used in the killing.

It is not yet known whether the attackers are members of radical groups.

Police said they opened a criminal case over the "deliberate murder committed by a group of people".

If convicted, the attackers could face up to 15 years in prison.

The head of Ukraine's national police Sergiy Knyazev has said attacks on Roma people by radicals have become more frequent recently.

During an incident in Kiev in April a neo-Nazi group burnt down tents of a Roma community and chased women and small children, throwing stones at them and setting off pepper spray.

Police said they had not opened a criminal probe because none of those attacked in Kiev had reported the crime.

A neo-Nazi group called C14 posted footage showing its members taking part in the Kiev assault on Facebook and promised more attacks.

In mid-June leading rights groups urged Ukraine to investigate attacks and harassment against the Roma minority, slamming "an atmosphere of near total impunity" in the country.

Source(s): AFP