Attack on Roma camp in Ukraine leaves one dead, four injured

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

The incident follows a series of attacks on Roma communities in Ukraine’s capital Kiev and in the cities of Lviv and Ternopil that have been condemned by rights groups. A group of masked individuals attacked the camp on the outskirts of Lviv late on Saturday with weapons including batons, police spokesman Yaroslav Trakalo told AFP by phone.

A 24-year-old man died from stab wounds and four more people were hospitalised, including a 10-year-old Roma boy and a 30-year-old woman, the police spokesman said. The boy has already been discharged from hospital.

Police said in a statement that they have already detained seven attackers who are aged 16 and 17 and a 20-year-old organiser 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, the police statement said.

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.