Violence has erupted between groups of Roma and police with an escalation in unrest on Thursday evening when a group of 25 men opened fire against police special forces in the western Athenian suburb of Aspropyrgos, according to police.
No injuries were reported, the assailants are said to have used rifles, according to Kathimerini.
Further west of Aspropyrgos outside the town of Megara, a vehicle was set alight and attending firefighters dodged thrown stones as they responded to the incident.
A Roma man was shot dead late Thursday night after a fight in a camp near Megara.
The full account hasn’t yet been released, but the murder appears to be unrelated to the tensions between the Roma community and police resulting from Monday’s police-involved shooting.
Witness reports allege the perpetrator and victim had a physical altercation ahead of the shooting. The victim was taken to the Megara hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.
The shooter has supposedly been identified but no arrest has been made at this time.
Traffic has been suspended on the old Athens-Corinth highway over a 3-kilometre stretch; it has also been halted in the Aegaleo ring road near Aspropyrgos.
In Korydallos, a young Roma man set fire to rubbish skips and tyres.
Elsewhere in western Athens, police raided Roma camps at four locations, arresting seven and detaining a further four. The detained persons have been charged with drug possession.
25 houses were searched during the operation which continued into Friday’s early hours.